Press Release: WISeKey's WISe.ART Subsidiary Becomes the World's First Hardware-Authenticated Art Platform as SEALSQ Subsidiary Secures European Patent for 'Back-to-Physical' NFT Technology
WISeKey's WISe.ART Subsidiary Becomes the World's First Hardware-Authenticated Art Platform as SEALSQ Subsidiary Secures European Patent for 'Back-to-Physical' NFT Technology
EPO-Granted Patent Embeds NFTs Directly into Secure Semiconductors,
Creating an Immutable Chain of Provenance, Ownership, and Authenticity for WISe.ART's Global Art Ecosystem
Geneva, Switzerland -- June 18, 2026 -- WISeKey International Holding Ltd (SIX: WIHN; NASDAQ: WKEY) ("WISeKey"), a global leader in cybersecurity, digital identity and IoT, today announced that its subsidiary, WISe.ART, the trusted digital art marketplace has become the world's first hardware-authenticated art platform while its other subsidiary SEALSQ Corp. (NASDAQ: LAES) ("SEALSQ") that focuses on developing and selling Semiconductors, PKI, and Post-Quantum technology hardware and software products has been granted a landmark divisional patent by the European Patent Office (EPO) for its 'Back-to-Physical' NFT technology, the foundational IP that enables Non-Fungible Tokens to be provisioned directly into secure semiconductor chips, creating an immutable, hardware-rooted link between a digital asset and a physical object.
For the global art market, this is not an incremental upgrade. It is a structural breakthrough: the first time that artwork provenance, ownership history, and authenticity certification can be cryptographically sealed at the silicon level, permanently, independently verifiable, and resistant to quantum-era threats.
The Provenance Problem the Art World Has Never Fully Solved
Forgery, disputed attribution, and opaque ownership chains cost the art market billions annually. Blockchain-based NFTs represented a genuine step forward, yet they remain fundamentally software constructs: a token on a ledger is only as trustworthy as the platform maintaining it. Platforms can be shut down. Tokens can be disputed. The link between a digital certificate and a physical work remains unenforceable at the hardware level.
WISe.ART was founded to solve this problem at its root.
What the EPO Patent Grants
The newly granted EPO divisional patent covers SEALSQ's core 'Back-to-Physical' claims: the method by which an NFT is provisioned directly into a tamper-proof semiconductor, creating a unique, cryptographically secured digital identity permanently embedded in the physical chip. The patent portfolio now spans three jurisdictions:
-- Swiss Priority Filing: CH 070467/2021 -- Filed 29 October 2021 -- foundational priority -- European Patent: EP 22200142.2 / EP 4174706 A1 -- Granted -- divisional covering Back-to-Physical core claims -- US Application: US 17/514,296 / US 2023/0139878 A1 -- Pending at USPTO -- Further EPO Divisional: Under examination -- Additional claims in prosecution
What This Means for WISe.ART and Its Ecosystem
WISe.ART is the only art platform in the world whose provenance guarantee rests on a granted European patent, backed by SEALSQ's Root-of-Trust semiconductor technology. In practice, this means:
-- Hardware-Anchored Authenticity: Every work certified through WISe.ART can carry an NFT anchored not merely to a blockchain record, but to a SEALSQ secure microcontroller physically associated with the artwork. The chip is the certificate. -- Immutable Digital Product Passport: Creation details, ownership history, exhibition records, valuation events, and transfer documents travel with the artwork forever as a tamper-proof Digital Product Passport (DPP), surviving auction houses, estate transfers, and generations of collectors. -- Post-Quantum Cryptographic Protection: The entire trust architecture is secured using SEALSQ's post-quantum cryptography, meaning WISe.ART-certified works remain cryptographically authentic even as quantum computing matures, a durability no software-only NFT platform can offer. -- Decentralised Verification: An artwork's authenticity can be independently verified by anyone, anywhere in the world, without relying on a central server, a third-party database, or the continued operation of any single platform. -- Regulatory Readiness: The DPP framework aligns directly with emerging European regulations mandating Digital Product Passports across high-value industries. WISe.ART-certified artworks will be compliant by design.
Carlos Moreira, Founder and CEO of WISeKey noted, "WISe.ART was built on the conviction that trust in art cannot be a software promise, it must be a hardware guarantee. Today's EPO patent grant transforms that conviction into protected intellectual property. For the first time, collectors, institutions, and artists have access to provenance that is not only blockchain-recorded but silicon-sealed, post-quantum secured, and independently verifiable without any centralized authority."
The WISeKey / SEALSQ Trust Infrastructure
WISe.ART operates within one of the world's most comprehensive digital trust ecosystems. WISeKey has spent 25 years building a global PKI and Root-of-Trust infrastructure now trusted by over 2.6 billion devices. SEALSQ develops and deploys the post-quantum secure microcontrollers and certified semiconductors that underpin this infrastructure.
The same silicon-level trust that authenticates aerospace components, medical devices, and satellite payloads now protects art. WISe.ART is the creative economy's access point to infrastructure-grade provenance.
Market Opportunity
The global art market transacts approximately $65 billion annually. Authentication and provenance services represent a growing segment, driven by increasing regulatory scrutiny, the rise of digital-physical hybrid collecting, and the mainstreaming of NFT-based ownership models. SEALSQ's patent opens the Back-to-Physical NFT category to commercial licensing across luxury goods, collectibles, and cultural heritage, with WISe.ART as the flagship operational deployment.
About WISe.ART
WISe.ART is a trusted digital art marketplace and provenance platform developed within the WISeKey ecosystem. It enables artists, galleries, and collectors to certify, trade, and authenticate physical and digital artworks using blockchain technology and SEALSQ's hardware-rooted NFT infrastructure. All transactions are conducted in $QAIT, the native utility token of the SEALQuantum ecosystem, secured by a Proof-of-Security (PoSy) consensus mechanism. WISe.ART is the world's first art platform whose authenticity guarantee is backed by a granted European patent. For more information: www.wise.art
About SEALSQ Corp.
SEALSQ is a leading innovator in Post-Quantum Technology hardware and software solutions. Our technology seamlessly integrates Semiconductors, PKI (Public Key Infrastructure), and Provisioning Services, with a strategic emphasis on developing state-of-the-art Quantum Resistant Cryptography and Semiconductors designed to address the urgent security challenges posed by quantum computing. As quantum computers advance, traditional cryptographic methods like RSA and Elliptic Curve Cryptography (ECC) are increasingly vulnerable.
SEALSQ is pioneering the development of Post-Quantum Semiconductors that provide robust, future-proof protection for sensitive data across a wide range of applications, including Multi-Factor Authentication tokens, Smart Energy, Medical and Healthcare Systems, Defense, IT Network Infrastructure, Automotive, and Industrial Automation and Control Systems. By embedding Post-Quantum Cryptography into our semiconductor solutions, SEALSQ ensures that organizations stay protected against quantum threats. Our products are engineered to safeguard critical systems, enhancing resilience and security across diverse industries.
For more information on our Post-Quantum Semiconductors and security solutions, please visit www.sealsq.com.
About WISeKey International Holding Ltd.
WISeKey International Holding Ltd ("WISeKey", SIX: WIHN; Nasdaq: WKEY) is a global leader in cybersecurity, digital identity, and IoT solutions platform. It operates as a Swiss-based holding company through several operational subsidiaries, each dedicated to specific aspects of its technology portfolio. The subsidiaries include (i) SEALSQ Corp (Nasdaq: LAES), which focuses on semiconductors, PKI, and post-quantum technology products, (ii) WISeKey SA, which specializes in RoT and PKI solutions for secure authentication and identification in IoT, blockchain, and AI, (iii) WISeSat AG which focuses on space technology for secure satellite communication, specifically for IoT applications, (iv) WISe.ART Corp which focuses on trusted blockchain NFTs and operates the WISe.ART marketplace for secure NFT transactions, and (v) SEALCOIN AG which focuses on decentralized physical internet with DePIN technology and houses the development of the SEALCOIN platform.
Each subsidiary contributes to WISeKey's mission of securing the internet while focusing on their respective areas of research and expertise. Their technologies seamlessly integrate into the comprehensive WISeKey platform. WISeKey secures digital identity ecosystems for individuals and objects using blockchain, AI, and IoT technologies. With over 1.6 billion microchips deployed across various IoT sectors, WISeKey plays a vital role in securing the Internet of Everything. Trusted by the OISTE/WISeKey cryptographic Root of Trust, WISeKey provides secure authentication and identification for IoT, blockchain, and AI applications. The WISeKey Root of Trust ensures the integrity of online transactions between objects and people. For more information on WISeKey's strategic direction and its subsidiary companies, please visit www.wisekey.com.
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