The Forbes NFT, âMerchants of the Metaverse,â went for auction on Wednesday at 1:30 P.M. (EST). The top bid so far is $333,000, with nearly one hour remaining.
For the Forbes NFT, this is a stark growth from the initial bid of $350. Proceeds from the auction will support the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) and the International Womenâs Media Foundation (IWMF). The other bids for the NFT ranking from number 2 to number 5 are currently in the $198,000 range.
SponsoredEssentially, the NFT is a transformation of the American business magazineâs latest cover. A first for the publishing industry, like Forbes, professed. The NFT version of the cover depicts the Winklevoss twins, whose NFT platform Nifty Gateway hosts the auction. World-renowned artist Yoshi Sodeoka produced the NFT, using Michael Princeâs original cover.
Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, who have a combined net worth of $6 billion, purchased Nifty Gateway back in 2019. In addition to being the subject of the Billionaire Issueâs cover story, âRevenge of the Winklevii,â they were also among the Crypto founders listed on the Forbes 2021 Billionaires List.
Mainly, CPJ is a not-for-profit organization set up to promote worldwide press freedom. Their mission involves defending journalists and their work from reprisals, including attacks, imprisonments, and even murder. Meanwhile, the IWMF works to support, protect, and recognize female journalistsâ roles, trying to ensure their mental and physical safety on the job.
NFT Auctions from other publications
While Forbesâ Chief Content Officer Randall Lane lauded the cover as one-of-a-kind, the business magazine is by no means the first to launch an NFT of their cover. Back on March 24th, American news magazine Time auctioned off three cover art NFTs.
Among them was one of the most iconic covers in Timeâs history. The first to comprise only text, the cover showed the words, âIs God Dead?â, first released on April 8th, 1966. This inspired the other two covers released as NFTs, which bore the questions âIs Truth Dead?â and âIs Fiat Dead?â respectively.