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Sir Tim Berners-Lee is auctioning his original source code on the Internet “Non-fungible tokens”, Despite the recent sell-off of cryptocurrencies, digital collectibles can continue to sell for millions of dollars.
Sotheby’s auction will be the first Berners-Lee Able to raise funds directly from one of the greatest inventions of modern times, and the proceeds will be used for initiatives supported by him and his wife Rosemary.
“The idea is that someone might like the digitally signed version of the code, a bit like a lot of people request an autographed copy of the book,” Berners-Lee said.
The auctioneer hopes that this unique digital artifact can stimulate their interest in NFT pillar Art, games and sports memorabilia.Since the record set in March, investment in NFTs has decreased US$69.3 million Beeple’s “Daily: First 5000 Days” sales.
Berners-Lee, 66, said in an interview with the Financial Times that the auction was an “opportunity to look back on the past.” .. 30 years have passed from the very, very simple initial code to the state [of the web] Now, it has some very simple aspects, but there are also many various problems.”
Unlike the founders of Google, Facebook, and Amazon, who obtained huge wealth through the Internet, Berners-Lee is not a billionaire.
The source code behind the World Wide Web and its first browser were conceived and coded by Berners-Lee between 1989 and 1991, and never received a patent. Instead, it was released to the public domain for free by Cern, a Swiss particle physics laboratory where British scientists worked.
This has led to the widespread adoption of technology that is now used by more than 4 billion people every day.But for potential archivists and collectors, it also complex Verify the idea of Berners-Lee’s original work.
“on NFT It is we can create this digital provenance document to prove the authenticity of the creator,” said Cassandra Hatton, Sotheby’s global head of science and pop culture. “This will become a reference point for everyone else. She added that this is indeed the most appropriate and typical digital artifact in NFT auctions.
Although Berners-Lee stated that the NFT project is his “first foray into the crypto field,” he believes that his initial vision for the network is similar to the idea behind the decentralized network of the Ethereum blockchain, which is The basis of most NFTs. This also coincides with his latest project, Solid, which aims to allow individuals to regain control of their personal data.
“Blockchain and the Solid community share the motivation to empower people,” Berners-Lee said, adding that the motivation for many blockchain projects is to “avoid central control.”
He initially envisioned the Internet as a collection of individual pages linked to each other, rather than being dominated by a few large companies. “It should be to empower individuals,” he said.
He worries that Internet monopoly will “automatically hinder innovation” and believes that ordinary Internet users will “strongly oppose” because they are worried that their data will be used Voter manipulation.
Today, Berners-Lee serves as the chief technology officer of Inrupt, which is Develop commercial applications Based on his Solid framework. The technology is being piloted by the Flanders government and some NHS agencies. Berners-Lee said that Inrupt is now starting its “first round of serious” fundraising activities.
“Without technological and policy changes, we will not be able to create a better world,” he said, “but fortunately, they happen at the same time.”
Ethereum worth nearly 650 million U.S. dollars has been used in digital art works, such as NFT According to Cryptoart data that tracks transaction volume, so far. Several “CryptoPunks”, pixelated portraits, constitute one of the first series of NFT. They have been sold for millions of dollars. The most recent one was sold at the Sotheby’s auction last week for a record 1180 Ten thousand dollars sold.
However, according to statistics, NFT transaction volume decreased month by month in April and May. Encryption art, And the broader sell-off of cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin.
After including the artist Damien Hirst Musicians such as Grimes have already tried NFT, and Sotheby’s is auctioning Berners-Lee’s code as one of the first auction houses to provide historical artifacts to crypto collectors. Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey sold his First tweet Sold for $2.9 million in March.
In a more traditional auction, the handwritten manuscripts of Alan Turing and Albert Einstein were sold for more than $1 million.Leonardo da Vinci Leicester Code In 1994, it was acquired by Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates for $30.8 million.
Hatton said that the winning bidder of Berners-Lee’s NFT will “have something similar to a manuscript” for use on the Internet.
Berners-Lee first outlined his thoughts on the Web in a memo in 1989, but he didn’t start writing code to implement it until September 1990.
The auction package includes the original archive of time-stamped files saved by Berners-Lee for the World Wide Web browser, a 30-minute digital “poster” with animation and codes, and a letter explaining the background of his invention.
Bidding starts from June 24th to 30th, starting at $1,000.
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