Guy Who Built Internet Is Selling Internet's Source Code As NFT, And You Can Buy It

The creator of the internet (as we know it for the large part), Tim Berners-Lee is selling the source code of the original World Wide Web browser in the form of an NFT (non-fungible token) at Sotheby¡¯s.

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Sotheby¡¯s announced the auction to be held from June 23 to June 30. The opening bid for this is $1,000, which is around Rs 75,000.

What is an NFT?

In case you didn¡¯t know, an NFT is a kind of digital certificate of authenticity for the owner of an item. It provides ownership of an artwork or literally anything digital to the person who holds the NFT.

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The term non-fungible signifies that it¡¯s unique and cannot be replicated. NFTs are part of the Ethereum blockchain and while they¡¯re similar to an Ethereum cryptocurrency, an NFT has a little more information that allows it to function a bit more differently.

What does it include?

The announcement for the auction was made by Sotheby¡¯s yesterday. The auction would include an original code written by the father of the internet as well as three other goodies -- a letter from him where he¡¯s shared his thoughts on the internet we all use today, a digital poster vector file and a 30-minute video. The video is a depiction of the code being written.

Sotheby¡¯s, announcing the digital auction said on Twitter, ¡°In 1989, British computer scientist @timberners_lee invented the World Wide Web in a moment that changed the world forever. Now, Sir Tim will offer the source code for the Web as an NFT in a historic one-off sale.¡±

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How was the internet made?

The internet was developed by Lee while working at CERN, in Europe. It was originally developed for automated information sharing between the universities and research organisations across the world. However, CERN relinquished its rights over the technology in 1993, allowing the world to experience it and see it grow to the level it has today.

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Berners-Lee, announcing this auction, said in a statement, ¡°For me, the best bit about the Web has been the spirit of collaboration. 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.¡±