NFT Of First Wikipedia Edit Auctioned For $1 Million, With Jimmy Wales' iMac

The computer and a Non-Fungible Token of Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales¡¯s first edit on the online reference resource nearly 20 years ago was sold for around $1 million at an auction, according to an AFP report.

Christie's

Also Read: Wikipedia Co-Founder Jimmy Wales Is Selling Off His First Wiki Edit As An NFT

Conducted by Christie¡¯s, the computer was a Strawberry iMac -- the personal computer Wales used for the development and research during the time Wikipedia was launched -- on January 15, 2001.

The NFT is of the debut onscreen image of Wikipedia when the aforementioned creator posted the first words, ¡°Hello world.¡± It was presented in a JPEG format and offers an interactive way to edit the page and reset with a timer to revert to its original state.

According to The Verge, the NFT, that is written to the Ethereum blockchain, encodes a smart contract that allows the buyer control over a particular website. The owner/buyer gets the ability to change the window for reverting edits, or even off editing or shutting down the page. The buyer can also ask Wales to manage the page for them.

Reuters

The NFT and the Strawberry iMac were sold for $750,000 and $187,500 respectively. A part of the proceeds from the sales would help fund Wales¡¯s WT.Social project -- a social media network that doesn't run on ad-based revenue, that claims to be a ¡®non-toxic alternative¡¯ to existing social media platforms.

Also Read: How Indians Are Making A Difference In Wikipedia's Fight On Coronavirus Misinformation

This sale is very similar to what the father of the internet, Tim Berners-Lee did with his NFT of the world wide web, who sold the source code for the internet for $5.4 million.

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