Former Sydney Symphony cellist Nathan Waks is part of an experimental blockchain-based model that could reshape how rare musical instruments are owned, financed and preserved, offering fractional stakes in his 18th-century Italian cello to a global pool of investors and patrons.

The initiative, developed with creative studio OCTARR, centres on what is being described as “tokenised fractional ownership” – a system that divides a single instrument into 100 blockchain-backed shares. Each token represents a 1 per cent ownership stake in Waks’ c.1740 Carcassi cello, valued at approximately US$500,000.

Nathan Waks. Photo supplied

Under the model, buyers purchase digital tokens authenticated on blockchain, with ownership governed by smart contracts. The physical instrument itself remains in circulation – rather than being held in private storage, it will be loaned to the winner of the inaugural Classic Cello International Competition, held at the Royal College of Music in London, for a minimum of two years.

Waks, 75, said the project was motivated by a desire to secure the instrument’s future as a performing object rather than a collectible asset. “This instrument has been my companion for decades. What matters most is that it continues to...