In 1989, a British computer scientist penned the code that "changed everything."
Tim Berners-Lee, a British computer scientist, wrote the original source code for the World Wide Web, which will be auctioned off as a non-fungible token (NFT) in an online Sotheby's auction.
During the This Changed Everything auction, which runs from June 23 to June 30, bids for the digitally signed Ethereum blockchain NFT will start at just $1,000.
NFTs are digital files that are supported by blockchain technology, which is the same technology that underpins prominent cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum. Unlike cryptocurrencies, however, an NFT is one-of-a-kind, and the blockchain ledger on which it is stored certifies who the true owner of that one-of-a-kind object is.
The NFT of Berners-World Lee's Wide Web code consists of four components: the original time-stamped files containing the source code he wrote; a moving visualization of nearly 10,000 lines of code; a letter written by Berners-Lee describing the code and the process of creating it; and a digital "poster" of the full code he created from the original files. According to a news statement from Sotheby's, the computer language Python was used.
Berners-Lee was working at CERN, Europe's physics research center, when he presented his concept, which he dubbed Mesh at the time and ultimately dubbed the World Wide Web. What was his boss's opinion? “It's hazy, but it's exciting.”
The World Wide Web, invented by Tim Berners-Lee in 1989, revolutionized the way the world develops and shares information.
According to Sotheby's, three decades after the concept was initially presented on a single server and one website, there are now over 1.7 billion websites connecting 4.6 billion individuals.
In a comment included in the Sotheby's press release, Berners-Lee remarked, "For me, the finest aspect about the web has been the spirit of collaboration."
“While I cannot anticipate the future, I genuinely hope that its use, knowledge, and potential will remain open and available to us all so that we can continue to invent, create, and launch the next technological transformation that we cannot yet imagine,” he added.
According to Sotheby's, the files up for auction include 9,555 lines of code that implement Berners-three Lee's developed languages and protocols: HTML (hypertext markup language), HTTP (hypertext transfer protocol), and URIs (uniform resource identifiers). Original HTML docs detailing how to utilize the application are also supplied.
NFTs have been increasingly popular in recent years. In March, Christie's auction house sold a digital-only artwork by American artist Mike Winkelmann, known as Beeple, for over $70 million.
Sotheby's recently sold a digital artwork named CryptoPunk as an NFT for $11.8 million. Pak, a digital artist, sold for $16.8 million at a Sotheby's NFT auction in April.
According to the auction house, the sale of the World Wide Web code will help programs that Berners-Lee and his wife support.
NFTs, according to Berners-Lee, are the "perfect approach" to bundle the web's beginnings.
“NFTs, whether they are artworks or digital artifacts like this, are the most recent playful inventions in this world, and the most acceptable method of ownership,” he stated.
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