A blockchain protocol is the technical framework that enables data and value to be recorded and transferred across a decentralized network. It appears as the underlying infrastructure for smart contracts, ERC-20 tokens, and the minting of works on chains such as Ethereum and Tezos. In Kevin Abosch’s "I AM A COIN," the artist tokenized himself as a cryptocurrency and issued 10,000,000 divisible ERC-20 tokens on the Ethereum blockchain. The project also links bodily material, namely blood, with a decentralized digital protocol, setting the finitude of the body against the apparent permanence of cryptographic space.
Within this context, a blockchain protocol is not merely a payment or transfer system. It functions as a framework that determines how value is validated and how an artwork can exist as a digital entity. A key point is that value is not certified by traditional financial institutions or centralized art institutions, but instead is sustained through distributed consensus among network participants. Tezos-based NFT minting, suggesting that different chains can shape the technical conditions, community atmosphere, and perceived character of digital art.