Wikipedia creator’s computer and NFT auctioned for almost US$1mil

Christie’s auctioned off two objects pertaining to the history of Wikipedia directly from Wales. The online sale titled ‘The Birth of Wikipedia’ consisted of two lots: an NFT of Wikipedia’s first edit, which sold for US$750,000 (RM3.17mil), and a Strawberry iMac used by Wales at the time, which totaled US$187,500 (RM793,312). — AFP

NEW YORK: An NFT memorialising Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales’s first edit on the online reference resource 20 years ago and the computer he used when programming the platform sold for a total of almost US$1mil (RM4.23mil) at auction on Dec 15.

Christie’s sold the NFT – Non-Fungible Tokens that are unique digital objects and confer ownership through blockchain technology – for US$750,000 (RM3.17mil) and the Strawberry iMac for US$187,500 (RM793,312).

The NFT is of Wikipedia’s debut onscreen image when Wales posted the first words, “Hello world”.

The Strawberry iMac was the personal computer he “used for development and research at the time of the website’s launch on January 15, 2001”, Christie’s said.

The NFT, presented in JPEG format, is interactive, with the buyer able to edit the page, “which can be reset with a timer to revert to its original state”, according to Christie’s.

Part of the proceeds from the sales will help fund Wales’s WT.Social project, a “non-toxic alternative” social media network that uses an advertising-free model.

The new darling art form for some collectors and investors, NFTs have become staples of auction houses and the art market.

An NFT of the World Wide Web’s source code sold in July for US$5.4mil (RM22.84mil) at Sotheby’s, while the all-digital work of American artist Beeple drew US$69.3mil (RM293.20mil) in March at Christie’s, an NFT record.

Also on Friday, Christie’s announced the auction of a bulletproof vest worn by rap megastar Kanye West during a party marking the release of his 2021 album Donda. – AFP