WWW creator says he’ll auction the World Wide Web source code as a NFT, starting at $1000

The creator of the World Wide Web Sir Tim Berners-Lee announced he’ll auction the original World Wide Web source code as an NFT.

Sotheby will be hosting the action titled “This Changed Everything” between June 23 and 30 in a standalone online auction.

“Three decades ago, I created something which has been a powerful tool for humanity,” said Sir Tim.

What will the NFT purchase include?

The NFT will include the time-stamped files containing the source code written by Sir Tim.

The WWW auction package will also include an animated visualisation of the code, a personal letter from the creator and a digital “poster” of the full code. Sir Tim will also digitally sign all parts of the NFT.

The full code amounts to nearly 10,000 lines of HTML, HTTP and URI in total, The code also includes the original HTML instructions for early web users.

“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,” said Sir Tim.

“They are the ideal way to package the origins behind the web.”

Sir Tim Berners-Lee

What are NFTs?

NFT stands for “non-fungible token”. Each NFT is entirely unique, and cannot be replaced. Most NFTs form part of the Ethereum blockchain.

Sir Tim says NFTs are the web’s “latest playful creation” and the most “appropriate means of digital ownership that exists.”

“Why an NFT? Well, it’s a natural thing to do as when you’re a computer scientist and when you
write code and have been for many years. It feels right to digitally sign my autograph on a
completely digital artefact,” he added.

History of the World Wide Web

The “WorldWideWeb” application was the first hypermedia browser. It allowed users to create and
navigate links between files across a network of computers.

Three decades later, that single server and website has turned into over 1.7 billion websites being accessed by 4.6 billion people around the world.

A mission to “re-decentralise” the web

Today, Sir Tim is working on a project called Solid, which aims to bring the web ‘closer to his original vision’ when things were completely open and without centralisation.

Sir Tim says the movement to “redecentralise” the web is gaining traction.

He hopes that the movement will empower users with ownership of their own data.

Bitcoin will get a privacy upgrade as concerns rise over the cryptocurrency’s ability to withstand ransomware attacks

Bitcoin’s upcoming privacy upgrade will be the crypto’s most significant change in the last four years. Bitcoin says the update will focus on the software that underpins the network.

The main advances to the network include changes that will make the network easier to manage for big embedded applications.

The update will also enhance user privacy and let more people use wallets that make it harder for people and organisations to track who paid who.

This follows U-S authorities recently linking cyber attacks against Colonial Pipeline and meat producer JBS SA to groups in Russia that used Bitcoin.

Castle Island Ventures says the upgrades are “definitely a driver in as much as it proves that Bitcoin can still innovate and can upgrade itself.”

Major investment banking firm, Goldman Sachs has warned its consumers to stay away from cryptocurrencies as the price of Bitcoin soars above USD$40,000 for the first time in weeks.

In a report released by the Sachs’ Wealth Management Division, the company says digital coins are “not a viable investment”

Goldman Sachs cites high energy consumption associated with mining coins as a reason to avoid the sector.

The report also details the possibility of technological advances which may make blockchain technology redundant and the risk of greater regulatory oversight.

The report says “after analysing various valuation methodologies and applying our multi-factor strategic asset allocation model, we have concluded that cryptocurrencies are not a viable investment for our clients’ diversified portfolios.”

“Musk sends one tweet and moves the dial entirely”

Meanwhile, Market Strategist Daniel Weiner joined Ticker News earlier and spoke about Elon Musk’s latest tweet that sent Bitcoin soaring.

More than four million Australians will invest in Crypto in the next four months.

Looking at the number’s, cryptocurrencies are on the rise.

That’s the consensus of a new survey of 1,027 Australians by global researcher YouGov, published by The AFR.

More than four million Australians are likely to buy crypto currencies like Bitcoin in the next 12 months, according to the published research.

One in five Australians “have owned cryptocurrency at some point”, and some 14 per cent currently holding an exposure in their portfolio.

Where is Crypto sitting in the markets?

Bitcoin tests $40K levels following positive comments from Tesla’s CEO Elon Musk and hedge fund manager Paul Tudor Jones.

The world’s largest cryptocurrency by market capitalisation is up about 20 per cent over the past e seven days.

Meanwhile, the S&P 500 rose 0.2% to a record high as of 4:03 p.m. New York time and the Nasdaq 100 rose 0.9% to a record high.

The Australian sharemarket has shot higher at the open, soaring to a new intraday record high during the opening minutes of trading.

Financials dropped as JPMorgan Chase Chief Executive Officer Jamie Dimon suggested Wall Street’s pandemic-era trading boom could be drawing to a close.