Wikipedia first-ever edit NFTs sells at Christie’s for $750K
The same year it celebrated its 20th anniversary in January 2021, the free Internet encyclopedia – Wikipedia has made yet another record in history by selling its first ever NFT via auction giant Christie’s.
On December 15, Christie’s had reportedly closed an auction of two of Wikipedia-related objects directly from its co-founder Jimmy Wales.
The series titled, The Birth of Wikipedia included two lots at the online sale, comprising of an NFT of Wikipedia’s first edit and a Strawberry iMac that had been used by Wales for creating Wikipedia. The former was sold at which sold for $750,000, while the latter is priced at $187,500.
The NFT lot has featured the first message that had been posted on Wikipedia by its co-founder back in 2001. The NFT marks a unique moment in the history of the internet wherein Wales had originally typed the words “Hello, World!” after launching the site on January 15, 2001.
The NFT has also preserved the layout of the Wikipedia home page that was in 2001, based on the earliest surviving source code. The NFT also enables its owner to edit the page, which can be then reset with a timer for reverting to its original state.
Senior Specialist at Christie’s, Peter Klarnet, has said that the auction’s result highlights “the burgeoning interest” in the history of the internet among fans and collectors.
According to the auction house, Wikipedia would also use a part of the sale proceeds for supporting Wales’ alternative social media network pilot project called WT.Social.
Christie’s, famed as one of the largest auction houses in the world, had moved into the NFT space in early 2021, announcing the milestone auction of its first-ever “purely digital work of art” by Beeple in February.
A popular digital artist, Beeple, had sold his NFT piece “Everydays: The First 5000 Days” for more than $69 million in March 2021, which emerged as one of the world’s most expensive NFTs.
