![AlonGoren02Web.gif](https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmadwHjGXvKmKdm46z7FpPZ92N69Mmfo6hVk8HKwQdC2dt/AlonGoren02Web.gif)
*Portrait of Alon Goren* is rare digital art by Joe Chiappetta, available as an edition of only 1 on [MakersPlace](https://makersplace.com/joechiappetta/portrait-of-alon-goren-1-of-1-18617/).

I drew this portrait of [Alon Goren](https://twitter.com/AlonGoren) while he was speaking on a panel at the Crypto Invest Summit (CIS) in Los Angeles. Alon is a Founding Partner of Draper Goren Holm, Co-Founder of Ownera, CIS (re-branded as [LA Blockchain Summit](https://lablockchainsummit.com/)), Security Token Summit, LA Blockchain Week, and probably all sorts of other cool things. On and off the blockchain, he is definitely a fine fellow to know! I certainly am grateful to be living in Southern California to meet so many remarkable folks like Alon.

Alon's influence in the crypto space has been an entirely positive one and the world could benefit from more folks like him. The more you hear him talk, the more you realize that he is an insightful champion for tokenizing art on the blockchain and selling these digital assets as an innovative new paradigm for artists. I share his zeal to help people and bring economic opportunity to the masses, marking a bright new future. It is one of the reasons why I am very active with rare digital art markets like [MakersPlace](https://makersplace.com/joechiappetta/), [SuperRare](https://superrare.co/JoeChiappetta), [Dada NYC](https://dada.nyc/portraits?pl=chiappetta), and [pixEOS](https://pixeos.io/).

This rising of rare digital art has already gathered impressive market momentum. In the past, digital art has not been regarded as being collectible. While digital art has existed since the 1960s, it has traditionally been very difficult to monetize or verify its provenance in an immutable manner. Yet now there are solutions to these issues and it has begun to transform the art industry. This will create a whole new economy through blockchain technology. 

The rare digital art industry is barely 4 years old. While still in the very earliest stages of growth, art is now being tokenized on the blockchain, and such art is also known as non-fungible tokens (NFTs). These art tokens are traded internationally and have real-world value, representing specific artworks. Their ownership history is also recorded on the blockchain, verifying digital item authenticity and guarding against fraud/counterfeit items.

Despite the newness of this industry, some rare digital art markets have reported weekly sales over $50,000 USD for many consecutive weeks, and these numbers are growing. In fact, by 2024, online art sales are collectively forecasted to be over $9 billion annually according to a [Statista](https://www.statista.com/statistics/284586/global-online-art-market-sales-2012/) study. So stick around. Things are about to get even more interesting.

Joe Chiappetta
http://SillyDaddy.net