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Tim Berners-Lee To Auction the Source Code for the World Wide Web as NFT

Sir Timothy Berners-Lee, an inventor of the world wide web (WWW), is set to auction the digital artefact, representing the source code of the web as an NFT. According to a report by The Guardian Tuesday, the auction is set to go live on Sotheby’s on June 23 and will span for a week. The starting bid for the piece is pegged at $1000 or (£710) and has no estimated sale cap.

The codes for the world wide web were proposed in 1990 and 1991, and the move to tokenize them will be the most innovative way to register their ownership.

“Three decades ago, I created something which, with the subsequent help of a huge number of collaborators across the world, has been a powerful tool for humanity,” Berners-Lee said. “While I do not make predictions about the future, I sincerely hope its use, knowledge, and potential will remain open and available to us all to continue to innovate, create and initiate the next technological transformation that we cannot yet imagine. NFTs (non-fungible tokens) be they artworks or a digital artefact like this, are the latest playful creations in this realm and the most appropriate means of ownership that exists. They are the ideal way to package the origins behind the web.”

The proposed NFT is a single-edition collectable that will feature four separate digital artefacts, including the original time-stamped files containing the source code written in 1990 and 1991; an animated visualization of the code being written; a letter written by Berners-Lee; and a digital “poster” of the full code.

NFTs are becoming popular as mainstream today. The United States Space Force (USSF) unveiled early its plans to make its foray into the NFT metaverse via a Neil Armstrong-themed digital collection. Per the web-themed NFT, Part of the proceeds from the sale of the NFT will be pumped into charity or initiatives that Berners-Lee and his wife, Rosemary Leith, support.

Over 101 Carat Diamond Sold for $12.2M in Crypto in Hong Kong

A 101.38-carat diamond has been sold for over $12.2M, conducted by Sotheby’s in Hong Kong recently. The transaction will be accepted in cryptocurrency payment, either in Bitcoin or Ethereum.

“The Key 10138” diamond sold by HKD 95,135,000 (around $12.2M in US dollars) in cryptocurrency to an unidentified private collector last Friday.

According to the statement released from Sotheby’s, the diamond, the second-largest pear-shaped in D- colour flawless purity, weighing 101.38 carats, categorized as Type IIa diamond, according to The Gemological Institute of America (GIA). Sotheby’s said fewer than ten 100 carat and examples ever having come to auction, only two of them pear-shaped.

This diamond is the first diamond auctioned to accept crypto as a payment method will accept payment in either Bitcoin (Bitcoin) or Ethereum (ETH), facilitated through Coinbase Commerce, one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges worldwide.

Sotheby’s said the institution continue their commitment to innovation by accepting payment in cryptocurrency for this landmark item.

“This is a truly symbolic moment. The most ancient and the emblematic denominator of value can now, for the first time, be purchased using humanity’s newest universal currency,” Wenhao Yu, Deputy chairman of Sotheby’s jewellery in Asia, said.

Crypto Applies on Auction

Art pieces are becoming popular, and more auctions accept digitalised form transactions and virtual currencies payments recently. The world wide web (WWW) source code was auctioned as a non-fungible token (NFT) last month and sold for $5.4m. Another piece from the United States Space Force (USSF) unveiled its plans to make its foray into the NFT metaverse via a Neil Armstrong-themed digital collection.

Image source: Sotheby’s

NFT Startup Mojito Secures $20M Funding with Sotheby's Backed

Mojito, a Non-Fungible Token (NFT) startup, has raised the sum of $20 million from investors, the chief of whom is the legacy art auction house- Sotheby’s.

While Sotheby’s has recorded a positive stint in the NFT metaverse in the year-to-date period, the investment in Mojito comes off as the first time that the auction house will be investing directly in crypto or blockchain-related outfits.

“We believe in the future of using blockchain to expand ownership of digital assets,” says Charles F. Stewart, Sotheby’s CEO. “There is a huge amount of focus and interest in NFTs. We hear about these categories from most of our existing clients and collectors. Still, we are also engaging with a rather large new audience focused on this category. Sotheby’s mission is to promote access and ownership of exceptional art and luxury objects, so focusing and developing this area makes a lot of sense.”

Mojito’s role in the booming industry is well defined. It partners with brands to conceptualize, design, and develop bespoke NFT marketplaces on top of the Mojito platform while also serving as a full-service NFT marketing partner and tech advisor. The Delaware-based startup said it would use the new funding to expand its engineering team while also ink deals with other projects to design more functional NFT platforms.

Despite there being a record of the growth of the NFT ecosystem that has primarily ushered in increased transaction volume on all marketplaces within the past year, the industry is still lacking the tag for being user-friendly. This remains one of the barriers to entry that Mojito seeks to eliminate.

“The crypto space has gotten a bad rap for being inaccessible and hard. We want to help lower the barrier to entry, make it easy, make it fun, and give brands space to make it their own,” says Dan Kinsley, CEO and co-founder of Mojito. “I’m passionate about decentralization in general and helping bring users into the space, and this is a great conduit for that.”

Beyond the Mojito funding, the broader cryptocurrency and blockchain ecosystem has been seeing the influx of venture capital funds as investors explore all means to gain exposure to the fast-growing blockchain world.

Sotheby's to Accept Ether in Live Bidding for Sale of Banksy's Works

Sotheby’s auction house will be accepting Ethereum (ETH) cryptocurrency during live bidding for its upcoming virtual exhibition, where two of Banksy’s artworks will be up for sale.

The 277-year-old British auction house will be holding the auction on November 18 at its “headquarters” in Decentraland – a decentralised 3D virtual reality platform – making it the first to accept crypto as a form of payment for real-time auction physical artwork.

The auction, titled “The Now Evening Auction”, will be featuring Banksy’s “Trolley Hunters” and “Love Is In The Air” (2006).

British-born Banksy, whose identity remains anonymous, is globally known as one of the most prolific creators of the 21st century for his reputation as an artist-provocateur-phenomenon.

His artwork mainly comprises street art characterised by dark humour, satire, and subversive epigrams of commentaries on social or political aspects of contemporary society.

Sotheby’s said that although the bidding prices will be announced in ETH, winning bidders have the option to pay in either Ether, Bitcoin (BTC) or USD Coin (USDC).

This is not the first time Sotheby’s has accepted crypto as a form of payment. It first began accepting BTC and ETH as a form of payment for an auction, which was not virtual, back in May for Banksy’s “Love is in the Air” – an iconic protest-themed artwork. The payment method was facilitated in partnership with United States’ largest cryptocurrency exchange, Coinbase.

In recent times, international auction houses have been moving vigorously into the crypto industry. In March of this year, British auction house Christie’s sold artist Mike Winkelmann’s digital artwork “Everydays: The First 5000 Days” as an NFT at a record-setting price of nearly $70 million. In October 2020, Christie’s also sold a Bitcoin-themed art piece and NFT for over $130,000 and became the first to accept ETH as payment in a CryptoPunks auction it held in May of 2020.

In October, Sotheby’s launched a new platform called “Sotheby’s Metaverse” that allows visitors to view digital artworks available at auction, as well as learn about the collectors and artists behind NFTs.

Art fans can tune in and follow the live-streamed broadcast on Sotheby’s social media channels for the upcoming Sotheby’s auction.

Liverpool FC to Launch NFT Collection in Partnership with Sotheby’s

The launch of the NFT collection comes in two categories, including a set of 24 unique ‘Legendary’ 1 of 1 NFTs and a series of generative ‘Hero Edition’ NFTs that combine multiple player illustrations to produce a unique digital collectable for each fan.

The Liverpool NFT collection was created in conjunction with legacy auction house Sotheby’s, and they are resident on the Polygon Layer-2 protocol to advance the club’s energy efficiency commitments.

“The LFC Heroes Club drop is a first-of-its-kind initiative, which seeks to bring a new, exciting and innovative way for supporters worldwide to engage with the club. We always strive to adopt new emerging technology for the benefit of fans and clubs while also being very conscious of our impact on the environment. This is why we have chosen to work with Sotheby’s due to its capability to create NFTs on an energy-efficient blockchain,” said Drew Crisp, senior vice-president of digital at Liverpool FC.

The football club said the NFTs are not an investment offering and that they are created to enhance how fans interact with their favourite footballers. The collections will be open for sale from Wednesday, March 30 to Friday, April 1, with the Hero Edition NFTs will sell for $75 (£56).

The intersection between sports teams and the crypto ecosystem is gradually becoming more visible by the day. Particularly in the English Premier League, the number of top clubs getting involved with crypto or blockchain startups increases. Manchester United partnered with Tezos (XTZ) as it gears up to move into the metaverse to boost its fan engagement.

In addition, Manchester City FC, the EPL’s current titleholder, is also planning to build a copycat of the Etihad stadium in the metaverse.

Image source: Sotheby’s

Sotheby's to Auction for Generative NFT Arts

Sotheby’s is a legacy auction house set to auction generative works of art spanning both old and contemporary pieces.

As announced by the company, the auction will run from April 18 to 24th and to feature the works of pioneering generative artists, including Vera Molnár, Chuck Csuri, and Roman Verostko.

Molnár is regarded as the first woman to ever venture into the world of generative arts, and her work, 1% de désordre (1976), was designed using computer plotting of rows of concentric squares. Still, two squares were programmed to be randomly omitted. The work is estimated to be worth about $15,000 to $20,000.

Another more expensive work from Molnár will also be on sale. Alongside the work from other artists, the collectors who throw in the winning bids for these pieces will go with the digital version, while the physical versions will remain in the archive of the artists.

“While NFT projects like CryptoPunks and the Bored Ape Yacht Club have stolen headlines around the world over the past year, few might understand how these NFTs are connected with the history of 20th century art movements — including the early generative artists who paved the way for computer art and the algorithm based art that has inspired many contemporary NFT projects,” said Sotheby’s vice president and co-head of digital art Michael Bouhanna in a statement.

Sotheby’s is not new to auctioning NFT works and is credited for pioneering the trend when it helped Mike Winkelmann (aka Beeple) in selling his Everydays piece which was snapped by a collector called MetaKovan for $69.3 million in Ethereum back in March 2021. Since then, the auction has organized a series of auctions involving generative NFT art collections, including the Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC).

The announced generative art auction will further entrench the pivotal role of Sotheby’s in bridging the gap between traditional artists and the capabilities of blockchain tech through NFTs as the Web3 ecosystem evolves.

Sotheby Alters Art Sale, Novice Player Makes Staggering Profit

In response to community feedback regarding a lack of diversity, Sotheby’s has announced that its upcoming digital art sale, “Glitch: Beyond Binary,” will place a focus on inclusivity. This comes after criticism of last month’s “Natively Digital: Glitch-ism” auction, which was temporarily paused due to the lack of diversity. Sotheby’s emphasizes that the sale will represent people from all backgrounds and identities, stating that it is committed to highlighting the diverse artist communities that make up Glitch Art.

On the other hand, a newcomer to the online game Illuvium: Beyond has made a staggering profit by finding the rarest character yet, the “Holo Blazing Rhamphyre.” The player found the character in a “D1SK,” a type of digital loot box containing random characters and accessories. The player purchased the loot box for only $32 and sold the character for $49,128.85, netting a profit of approximately 140,525%.

In other NFT news, the Ukrainian President has signed the country’s first NFT, a collection called “UACatsDivision,” featuring cats of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, with all funds donated to the Ukrainian military services. At the time of writing, 3,026 NFT cats had already been purchased out of the 10,000 available.

Meanwhile, Bitcoin miners have made over $5 million from creating NFT inscriptions using the Ordinals protocol, according to Dune Analytics data. Transaction fees for Ordinals transactions exploded from $1.5 million on March 10 to $5.2 million by April 12. Nearly 1.1 million Ordinals had been inscribed on the Bitcoin network, consisting mainly of jpeg images and text but also PDFs, video, and audio formats.

However, an NFT collector made a costly mistake by bidding 100 Ether (ETH), worth around $192,000 at the time of writing, for an NFT from the Gemesis NFT collection, which was intended to be free to celebrate the launch of OpenSea Pro. Some community members believe the transaction was a wash trade, while others argue that the trader simply made a mistake bidding 100 ETH instead of $100. However, another community member argued against theories that it was a wash trade since it was too risky.

Overall, the world of NFTs continues to grow and evolve, with new developments and opportunities for profit emerging regularly.