Sotheby is auctioning in June 2021 the source code which forms the basis of www — world wide web. It is a code consisting of 9,555 lines. This code was written by Tim Bernes-Lee, a British computer scientist in 1990-91.

The code will be tokenised — tied to an NFT. It is going to be smart contract asserting the buyer’s ownership and the code’s authenticity. The files can be accessed by the buyer via the NFT. There are links which enable the viewing online or is downloadable to a computer.

The bids would start from $1000. The buyer will also get original HTML documents to serve as a user’s manual. The buyer will be given a digital poster that carries all the 9,555 lines and the autograph of the British scientist. A letter from the scientist reflecting on the code and the process of its creation will also be given to the buyer.