After celebrating its 20th anniversary in January, the free Internet encyclopedia Wikipedia continues to make history by selling its first non-fungible token (NFT) through auction giant Christie's.
On December 15, Christie's finished an auction of two Wikipedia-related objects directly from Wikipedia co-founder Jimmy Wales.
Noble The birth of Wikipedia, the online sale included two lots, one NFT of the first Edit, which sold for $ 750,000, and a Strawberry iMac used from Wales to create Wikipedia, sold for $ 187,500.
The NFT batch features the first message posted on Wikipedia by the site's co-founder in 2001, marking a unique moment in internet history: Wales wrote the words "Hello world!" after launching the site on January 15, 2001.
The NFT retains the 2001 Wikipedia home page layout, based on the oldest surviving source code. The NFT also has a feature that allows the owner to edit the page, which can be reset with a timer to return to its original state.
Christie Senior Specialist Peter Klarnet said the auction result "underscores the growing interest in Internet history among collectors." According to the auction house, Wikipedia will use a portion of the proceeds from the sale to support Wales' alternative social media pilot project, WT.Social.
Related: Sotheby's Metaverse Announces Largest and Latest NFT Charity Auction
Christie's, one of the largest auction houses in the world, moved into the NFT industry in early 2021, announcing the auction of her first “purely digital artwork” from digital artist Beeple in February. Beeple's NFT Piece "Every Day: The First 5000 Days" sold for over $ 69 million in March, emerging as one of the most expensive NFTs in the world.
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