BikeBiz Bicycle and cycling retail news
The “world’s only” authentic replica of Fausto Coppi’s 1953 De Marchi jersey has sold for $10,500.
Cycling clothing company De Marchi partnered with the blockchain-driven authentication company BlockStar to auction off the jersey.
De Marchi CEO Mauro Coccia said: “De Marchi is proud to honour Fausto Coppi’s accomplishments with this innovative sale, as it combined history and modern technology by leveraging Blockstar’s blockchain platform to certify our jersey’s authenticity as the only authorized replica.
“This represents a new step for De Marchi, taking our innovation from the cycling track to the digital frontier.
“We were thrilled to see so much interest in Coppi’s jersey as it is a testament to Coppi’s legacy as one of the world’s most influential cyclers, even now, almost 60 years after his death.”
The highest bidder, who has chosen to remain anonymous, will receive the first and only physical replica of the 1953 Coppi original jersey, as well as the exclusive rights to the digital rendering of the original jersey. BlockStar’s blockchain platform was used to ensure provenance and authenticity of this one-of-a-kind piece for the buyer, authenticating both the physical jersey as well as creating the first branded digital apparel twin.
This digital twin will also enable the winner to utilise the digital version in an array of digital environments and earn continuous passive royalties through De Marchi jersey licensing agreements. This auction and sale mark the first-ever use of an apparel maker using a Digital Authentic Good created on the IBM Hyperledger Blockchain.
Blockstar CEO Christian Ferri said: “The successful auction and sale of this jersey marks the first of many similar successful blockchain-authenticated sales.
“We’re delighted to see that there exists such a large group of people who understand the need for the provenance of rare goods and believe that Digital Authentic Goods (DAGs) are the future of commerce.”
Blockstar and De Marchi also partnered with Quantstamp, a leading blockchain security firm, who enhanced the security of the smart contracts and website throughout the auction and sale.
