Sir Tim Berners-Lee, one of the architects of the World Wide Web, is selling the source code to the original web browser as an NFT (via the BBC). The

Sir Tim Berners-Lee is selling the first web browser’s code as an NFT

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2021-06-15 23:30:05

Sir Tim Berners-Lee, one of the architects of the World Wide Web, is selling the source code to the original web browser as an NFT (via the BBC). The auction, being run by Sotheby’s, will not only include the code for the WorldWideWeb browser, but also a letter from Berners-Lee himself, a vector file that could be printed as a poster, and a 30-minute silent video that depicts the code being typed out. According to a press release from Sotheby’s, the proceeds will benefit causes supported by Berners-Lee and his wife.

The code up for auction contains elements of the web that many of us are familiar with today, including functions to parse and display HTML documents, rudimentary styling support, the HTTP protocol, and even the ability to print a webpage.

Berners-Lee seems to think NFTs are a natural fit for code — in the press release, he says that NFTs are “the latest playful creations” on the internet and “the ideal way to package the origins behind the web.” In an interview with Financial Times, he compares the NFT to an autographed book, which just makes me imagine how much cooler this project would be if he had instead auctioned off the code on a signed box of magneto-optical disks that would’ve been used by the NeXT Computer he used to write it.

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