The global fine art market suffers from pervasive authenticity threats, including high-precision manual replicas, AI-generated forgeries, commissioned ghost artworks, and physical piece substitution across paintings, sculptures, prints, and digital art. Three dominant authentication paradigmsâexpert visual appraisal, material-based instrumental testing, and standalone blockchain image archivingâexhibit fundamental structural limitations, as they rely on empirical judgment or fragmented technical verification rather than rigorous logical deduction. None provides a unified, mathematically rigorous, and judicially enforceable standard for authenticating all categories of fine art. This study establishes logical guaranteed authenticity by developing an interdisciplinary Three-Determination (AOE) theoretical framework grounded in identity authentication logic, micro-physical forensics, blockchain cryptography, and international evidence law. The core logical formula PâAâ§Oâ§E defines the sufficient and necessary conditions for definitive artwork authenticity: valid Artist Attestation (A), exclusive Object Identification (O), and legally binding Evidence Certification (E). This work conducts rigorous mathematical proofs for sufficiency and necessity, alongside counterfactual analysis for antique and posthumous artworks. The results establish a clear logical boundary: definitive, logically guaranteed scientific authentication is exclusively achievable for contemporary works created by living, verifiable artists with complete A-O-E triple validation. Ancient, anonymous, and posthumous artworks cannot obtain conclusive authenticity certification due to the permanent unfulfillment of the A-condition. A self-developed SaaS filing system validates the frameworkâs practical engineering feasibility. Universally applicable across oil paintings, sculptures, decorative art, and generative digital art, the AOE model imposes no restrictions on artistic medium or regional style. Benchmarked against leading international provenance platforms (Verisart, Artory, Arweave) and aligned with the EU eIDAS regulation and U.S. cultural property evidence standards, the framework demonstrates robust cross-jurisdictional and cross-medium adaptability. This theory fills a critical global research gap by establishing a pure logic-driven, quantifiable, closed-loop authentication paradigm for universal fine art verification, offering authoritative technical and legal support for cross-border art transactions, AI forgery regulation, and global cultural asset digitization.
Muhammad Hadi Mustafa, Choy Poh Keong, Chua Wen Xuan, Zulkiflee Abdul-Samad ¡ 5 authors
The challenges in heritage building documentation and management in Malaysia highlight the need for a more secure and integrated digital framework. Although Heritage Building Information Modelling (HBIM) has improved digital documentation and lifecycle management, current practices remain constrained by data fragmentation, limited transparency, and inefficient stakeholder collaboration. While blockchain technology offers considerable potential to enhance data security and trust, its integration with HBIM in heritage conservation projects remains underexplored. This paper aims to develop a conceptual framework in exploring the interrelated themes influencing the implementation of blockchain integration with HBIM in Malaysian projects. Using a qualitative approach, semi-structured interviews were conducted with industry professionals, and the data were analysed using thematic analysis. The proposed conceptual framework is empirically informed by practitioner interviews, allowing the study to capture both technological possibilities and implementation realities within the Malaysian heritage project context. The findings suggest that blockchain-enabled HBIM has the potential to strengthen data integrity, transparency, traceability, stakeholder accountability, and lifecycle decision-making, although these benefits require further validation through pilot implementation. Future research should further validate the proposed framework through pilot projects, and blockchain governance guidelines tailored to the Malaysiaâs heritage conservation sector.
Saskia Hufnagel, Colin King, Alina-Theresa Schnedl, Milind Tiwari
Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) bring many opportunities for artists, investors, and creators, but they also have a dark side with significant potential for use in financial crimes. Drawing on relevant caselaw, a systematic review and topic modeling of literature, we map common examples of NFT-related crime, including fraud, money laundering, theft, and market-related offenses. This empirical review lays the groundwork for the core contribution of this article, that is, application of the âcrime triangleâ to NFT-related crime. Recognizing heterogeneity in NFT-related crime, we detail five scenarios where such crime can occur and analyze these in the context of the crime triangle (inner and outer). This enables us to identify potential gaps and vulnerabilities in current crime prevention strategies. Given challenges in policing cybercrime, and specifically NFT-related crime, we argue that the crime triangle provides a useful heuristic tool for understanding the nature of NFT-related crime and for preventing such crime from happening.