Photo by Sothebys/GizmodoAccording to reports, the foundation of the internet is worth $5.4million. Today, Tim Berners-Lee, the founder of the internet, sold an NFT (not a file transfer) of the source code of the World Wide Web in an auction held by Sothebys. He wrote the source code in 1989. Berners-Lee stated that he will donate the money to unspecified charities. It is nearly twice as expensive as Jack's first tweet, and ten times more than the Disaster Girl meme. However, it represents 1/12th of Beeples collection with 5,000 digital images. Large sums of money are absurd.AdvertisementProponents of an open and free internet may find $5.4 million plus Sothebys a bit revolting. Berners-Lee appears to see the NFT market, which is a great place to store the wealthy so they don't buy the internet. He told the Guardian that he is not selling the source code. I am selling a picture I took with a Python program that I wrote. It shows what the source code might look like if it were stuck to the wall. The market will theoretically block a secondary market that can cause minimal collateral damage other than wealth hoarding. This is a major problem, as it accelerates climate change by carbon pollution. Andrew Bonneau, a carbon market advisor, told Artnews that NFTs are a small part of the Ethereum blockchain. A single NFT can expel as much in an hour as a commercial jet. The energy cost ends at the mining stage.Berners-Lee, in a Sotheby's quote, described NFTs to be the best form of ownership and the best way to package the origins of the web.The anonymous buyer received virtually nothing. Berners-Lee was a pioneer in making the almost 10,000 lines of code publically available. You can view it animated on Sothebys. This was the spirit behind its creation. Berners-Lee made it available to the public in 1993. He has also advocated net neutrality and warned that privatization of the internet for profit would destroy the principle of the web being an equal platform. The buyer received (an NFT) a video of Berners Lee's original time-stamped files and his letter reflecting on its creation.It doesn't matter if auction houses continue to make money. In this instance, Sothebys takes in approximately $900,000.
