October 19, 2022

In 2022, Bank Pekao S.A. decided to celebrate the 25th anniversary of its Private Banking in an innovative way. The unique, limited edition of UNIQUE credit cards featuring a fragmented artwork – as an NFT – by Rafał Bujnowski, created in collaboration with SMARTVerum and Mastercard, was a groundbreaking event in the world of banking, art, and technology. By embracing the new digital era and catering to demanding, also young clients, the Bank decided as well to enter the metaverse, naturally linked with NFTs – and showcase the art created by artist Kaja Renkas. From the start, the vision of the Bank was realized by the SMARTVerum team – a pioneer in the tokenization of artworks in Central Europe.

Kaja Renkas, the author of world-renowned posters, created a unique collection of posters titled „Bison on Wall Street.” The bison is featured in the logo of Bank Pekao S.A., and the title of Kaja Renkas' works refers to New York's Wall Street and the bull statue that stands there as a symbol of power of the American financial world. Kaja Renkas' works were meant to refer to the broad concept of the capital market – and they did. The Polish bison, in various forms, found its place in the world of finance, and when the poster artist's works were tokenized by SMARTVerum, this symbol took on additional significance: progress, power, uniqueness, and the consistent breaking of new ground at the intersection of business and art.

The NFT works from the „Bison on Wall Street” collection were exhibited at the Warsaw headquarters of the Bank and in the PeoPay Gallery – a virtual space located in ESKA World, the first Polish metaverse environment, in collaboration with SmartVerum, Radio ESKA, and Veles Production. In addition to NFTs, the exhibition included animations and an interactive game. All works by Kaja Renkas from the „Bison on Wall Street” collection were also available on the mintiq.io platform, now Verum.ART. By once again establishing a close relationship with the NFT space and SMARTVerum, Bank Pekao S.A. demonstrated that it is a super-modern institution, open to new technologies and trends in art, which perfectly synchronize in the world of major financial institutions. Through its activities, SMARTVerum has been proving for many years that the potential of NFTs in art and business is truly enormous, and the benefits are mutual. It should be harnessed!