CEO Kylie James shares a 2026 roadmap focused on faster settlement, fraud reduction, and a tamper-evident record for authenticity and ownership.
LONDON, LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM, January 10, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ — London Art Exchange today outlined a 2026 technology roadmap built around secure digital ledger infrastructure designed to improve how payments, authenticity checks, and ownership records are handled across auctions and private transactions.
In a recent internal interview, CEO Kylie James described the next stage as a response to practical problems the art market still struggles with: slow settlement, avoidable disputes, fragmented paperwork, and confidence gaps around provenance and verification.
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“Art is emotional, but the transaction side must be precise,” said James. “If you are buying something you plan to keep for years, you should not be relying on scattered PDFs, forwarded emails, and missing gaps in the story.”
London Art Exchange’s approach centres on a permissioned ledger model. That means records are tamper-evident and time-stamped, while access remains controlled. The goal is not to change the culture of collecting. The goal is to modernise the proof layer behind the scenes.
This roadmap is being designed to support three outcomes.
Faster settlement, with clearer transaction receipts.
Cleaner authenticity and provenance records tied to the asset.
Fewer disputes, through consistent audit trails and controlled disclosures.
The plan builds on London Art Exchange’s existing online presence and auction infrastructure, with updates intended to roll out in phases during 2026 as testing completes.
information on LAX (Hyperlinks)
Interview highlights with Kylie James
What worries you most about the future of the art market?
James: “Two things. Trust and speed. Trust suffers when ownership history is unclear or when documentation is inconsistent. Speed suffers when payment processes don’t match the realities of cross-border buying. When those two collide, you get delays, misunderstandings, and deals that fail when they should not.”
What is changing in 2026?
James: “We are building a stronger settlement and verification layer. When a buyer completes a transaction, the proof of that transaction should be structured, consistent, and easy to validate. When an artwork moves from one owner to the next, the record should not depend on someone keeping the right email thread from three years ago.”
James said the organisation is focusing on “ledger-backed receipts” that can link a verified transaction, a verified user, and a specific artwork record, creating a clear chain of custody without exposing private details to the public.
How does this improve payments without changing how people pay?
James: “Collectors will always choose what feels comfortable. Bank transfer. Card. Structured invoicing. What we are improving is the settlement clarity and the accountability around the moment funds are released and recorded. You get fewer grey areas.”
The roadmap includes work on transaction steps that can reduce common friction points.
Escrow-style conditional release, where appropriate.
Split settlement logic for multi-party transactions such as consignments.
Consistent receipts that match the asset record and the transaction record.
Identity-linked confirmation to reduce impersonation and invoice fraud.
The focus is operational: getting the transaction and the asset record to agree, every time, with a verifiable audit trail.
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What changes in authenticity and provenance?
James: “People talk about authenticity like it’s one moment. It isn’t. It is a chain. Who handled it. Where it was shown. What condition reports exist. What repairs or restoration were recorded. Which invoices match which transfers. A ledger-based record lets you build a timeline that is harder to distort and easier to check.”
London Art Exchange’s 2026 roadmap includes an artwork registry model designed to store structured fields that support verification.
Artwork identifiers and reference data.
Ownership and transfer milestones, with time stamps.
Exhibition and transaction records where relevant.
Condition notes and restoration logs where applicable.
Loss, theft, or dispute flags when required.
The aim is not public exposure. The aim is controlled verification.
“We are not interested in turning private collections into public theatre,” said James. “We are interested in making verification simple for the people who have a legitimate reason to verify.”
How do you handle privacy?
James: “Permissioning is the point. A collector should be able to prove a fact without exposing their life. Our focus is controlled visibility, consented sharing, and record integrity.”
In practice, this can mean role-based access where different parties see different levels of detail.
A buyer can verify an artwork’s registered record without seeing a previous owner’s identity.
A seller can provide proof of custody without exposing unrelated documents.
A compliance review can rely on consistent logs without broad data leakage.
This is part of why London Art Exchange describes the infrastructure as a “trust layer” rather than a marketing feature.
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What is the 2026 rollout plan?
James: “No shortcuts. We are treating this like a system that must survive pressure, not like a feature to announce and forget.”
The roadmap follows a phased structure.
Phase 1: Core ledger and asset registry foundations.
Phase 2: Controlled internal testing across selected transaction types.
Phase 3: Limited partner and client rollout with monitored volume.
Phase 4: Wider expansion once stress testing and reconciliation meet standards.
“This is how you avoid technology that looks impressive but breaks when real transactions hit it,” said James.
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What should collectors and partners do now?
James: “Stay close. Use the platform. Ask better questions. If you are a collector, keep your records clean and centralised. If you are a partner, start thinking about how verification and settlement can become a standard part of your service.”
London Art Exchange will share updates through its website and official channels as the 2026 testing phases progress.
information on LAX (Hyperlinks)
About London Art Exchange
London Art Exchange is a London-based art platform with online auction and marketplace services. The organisation supports collectors through curated releases, private transactions, and digital-first infrastructure designed to make buying and selling clearer, faster, and easier to verify. Learn more at www.thelax.art
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kylie James
London Art Exchange LTD
+44 800 208 4800
management@thelax.art
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