Quick take:
- The platform, named Vault by 500px, is now live in beta.
- 500px has put up 15 artworks for sale on Vault.
- The most expensive NFTs were listed for 0.71 ETH.
China’s largest stock image agency, Visual China Group (VCG), is testing a new overseas NFT marketplace that allows users outside China to make payments with Ether. The platform, named Vault by 500px, is now live in beta.
The platform carries the branding of photography community, 500px, which was acquired by VCG in 2018. According to 500px, it has about 500,000 contracted artists with more than 20 million users across 195 countries.
In a blog post, 500px said that the marketplace “provides a new opportunity for a monetary reward for creators while also getting access to valuable resources such as guides, articles, and support from 500px to help navigate the world of NFTs and cryptocurrency.”
Vault by 500px has listed 15 artworks for sale, with the most expensive ones going for 0.71 ETH each. 500px said it entered the NFT space to provide a new income stream for creators and reward collectors with original and unique artwork.
As the platform is located outside of China, it’s not affected by China’s ban on cryptocurrency and can receive payments in Ether. The artwork available on the marketplace is curated by its team of editors. New elements will be introduced to the platform to improve user experience and enhance the interface with new technology.
Vault will offer select works from the Corbis collection, giving collectors the opportunity to own a piece of history. The Corbis archive was founded by Bill Gates in 1989 is currently housed in Iron Mountain with 20,000 sq ft of images.
The Corbis collection provides collectors access to significant moments in history from world events to pop culture and creative content. Four images from the Corbis archive will be released.
Vault’s launch began with highlighting women creators in the NFT space to even the male-dominated playing field. “Historically opportunities in tech have been kept from women and in 2022 this inequality should no longer exist… Only around 16% of NFTs are owned by women according to an NFT market report by ArtTactic,” the platform wrote in a blog post.
Some of the women creators highlighted on the platform include Ukrainian photo artist Iryna Kovalchuk, independent photographer Pam Lau, Toronto-based artist Madeleine Gross, multimedia artist Elnaz Mansouri, and photographer Julia Wimmerlin.
Founded in 2000, VCG was China’s first image licensing company, and has been the exclusive distributor of Getty Images in the country since 2006. Recently, Getty Images signed a multi-year deal with digital collectible platform, Candy Digital, to sell NFTs.
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