THIRD MILLENNIA AND LONDON TECH FIRM MATTEREUM LAUNCH CRYPTO-TECH ANTI-COUNTERFEIT VENTURE TO SAFEGUARD DIGITAL COMMERCE IN CULTURAL MARKETS
EMBARGO: IMMEDIATE (MONDAY 22 MARCH 2021)
PRESS RELEASE: THIRD MILLENNIA AND LONDON TECH FIRM MATTEREUM LAUNCH CRYPTO-TECH ANTI-COUNTERFEIT VENTURE TO SAFEGUARD DIGITAL COMMERCE IN CULTURAL MARKETS
Blockchain authentication platform Third Millennia, founded by sci-fi legend William Shatner and collectibles expert Paul Camuso, has teamed up with London-based Mattereum to launch a new initiative to document the authenticity of collectibles on the blockchain.
The initiative features a series of Real World Asset Non-Fungible Tokens (rwaNFTs) to tokenize prized memorabilia and props chronicling two of Mr. Shatner’s historic roles from his iconic career: Captain Kirk of Star Trek and Denny Crane from Boston Legal. Other historic props from the Star Trek franchise, Titanic and Logan’s Run are also included. The Third Millennia authenticated items will be showcased at auction this week, hosted via OpenSea, with sign up information at ShatnerOnChain.com.
RwaNFTs, or “digital twins”, are blockchain tokens that denote digital ownership of a physical good stored on an immutable ledger. Third Millennia’s service Ocuver will deploy its considerable and wide ranging knowledge of the world of collectibles to ensure that the objects meet the collectors’ high expectations. Mattereum will bring Ocuver’s expertise to the blockchain with legally binding smart contracts.
William Shatner said: “I am thrilled that the first authenticated products from my new company, Third Millennia, are coming to auction. These figures, pieces and props represent a bold step into the future of consumer products where, using crypto technology, consumers can be assured of what they purchased. This is the future everybody.”
The partnership between Third Millennia and Mattereum bridges the virtual and physical divide, leveraging the collectibles expertise of Third Millennia and Mattereum’s technical knowhow and the security of blockchain technology to safeguard collectors. By certifying a physical product’s data throughout its entire lifecycle, the origin and ownership journey of goods are secure and trackable.
But these positive impacts will extend beyond luxury items and collectibles. With fake goods affecting everything from pharmaceuticals, machinery and labor practices – accounting for 3.3% of global trade, or over $500bn annually – the trust, transparency, and accountability created by digital authentication will revolutionize the fight against fraud and counterfeiting. This is especially crucial given the growing prominence of digital commerce in the worldwide post-pandemic economic recovery.
Vinay Gupta, founder and CEO of Mattereum, said: “First came crypto currencies, second came the defi revolution. The third wave of the crypto revolution is NFTs. NFTs crypto assets which are simple enough for anybody to buy and sell, and legally so clear that many major brands are issuing their own NFTs. Mattereum’s painstaking legal research and groundbreaking environmental agenda are here to support the full transformative potential of this revolution. On a personal note, I’d like to say that I never dreamed in a million years I’d ever get to launch a project with Mr. Shatner. You can’t imagine how cool this is for our entire team. Definitely the future we did not even know we could dream about.”
Paul Camuso, CEO of Third Millennia and an art and collectibles expert, said: “The core value proposition in business is the legitimacy of your brand. With counterfeit goods being so readily available, there needs to be a system in place for consumers to feel safe in purchasing luxury brands, art and collectibles. Third Millennia’s system of authentication is an effective method for ensuring consumer confidence in goods purchased in the primary and secondary markets. Consumers can feel assured that what they are buying is genuine and the system takes the doubt out of the history and provenance for future generations.”
Vinay Gupta and Paul Camuso are available for interview.
Photos of Mr Shatner are available on request.
For further information: alessandro@mattereum.com
ENDS
Notes to editors:
Auction
The auction website can be accessed at https://shatneronchain.com/
About Mattereum
London-based Mattereum was established in 2017 by a trans-disciplinary team with a track record in designing and launching nation state-level infrastructure and headed by former Ethereum release coordinator Vinay Gupta. Mattereum is the global leader in designing systems for digitally representing and trading valuable real world assets including fine art, gold, and real estate. More at: http://www.mattereum.com
About Third Millennia
Third Millennia is a blockchain authentication platform founded by William Shatner and Paul Camuso. It features the Ocuver digital authentication system that enables product data to be verified throughout its entire lifecycle. Products are tagged and their stories are trackable over time, meaning they can be tokenized and transacted on global cryptocurrency platforms, making them counterfeit and theft proof.
About OpenSea
OpenSea is the first and largest marketplace for user-owned digital goods, which include collectibles, gaming items, domain names, digital art, and other assets backed by a blockchain.
Mattereum Asset Passports
The Mattereum Asset Passport is a third-party verified digital identity for physical things stored on the blockchain. They can be assigned to a diverse range of asset classes including fine art, collectibles, luxury goods, aviation parts, consumer electronics, and many more.
The Mattereum Asset Passport bundles legal and digital agreements which denote true ownership of an object while providing secure digital provenance, certificates of authenticity, insurance frameworks, and dispute resolution. These smart legal agreements are cryptographically signed and secured on-chain and stored in distributed storage networks such as IPFS.
Real World Asset Non-Fungible Tokens (rwaNFTs)
RwaNFTs (also referred to as “Digital Twins”) are backed by an underlying physical asset paired with Mattereum’s smart contracts, enabling warranties, insurance, and legal enforceability. This provides a fundamental building block for commerce on the blockchain. The “legal digital twin” is composed of expert opinions and machine-readable data sets, contained in a legal container.