Digitalization of the Art Market: Transformation of the Russian Art Market Under the Impact of Blockchain Technologies

The research aims to identify the distinctive features of the art market metamorphosis in Russia in terms of the ongoing global digitalization and state control of blockchain technology, as well as to substantiate the advantages this technology promises to the art market. The authors apply comparative analysis to identify the degree of digitalization of the global art market and determine the price competitiveness of original works to digitalized paintings in the Russian art market. Additionally, the authors used the trend analysis method to identify trends in the market digitalization. Since 2021, the Russian art market, trying to catch up with global trends in the digitalization of the art business, has been actively adapting to contemporary digitalization standards. Digitalized copies of Russian art objects can compete with material works. As a result of the digital art market analysis, the authors revealed a drop in NFT sales. Investors are increasingly recognizing the critical role of blockchain technologies. In Russia, the substitution of NFTs with digital financial assets (DFAs) further signals the ongoing trend toward digitalization. The advantages of digitalizing the Russian art market include a substantial increase in market participants, driven by greater transparency in art pricing and provenance history. This transparency is made possible through the digitalization of art objects, many of which are owned by state museums, helping to bring the Russian art market out of the grey area. © 2025 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.