Tech entrepreneur and TRON founder Justin Sun bought the latest non-fungible token (NFT) artwork by Beeple for $6 million. The artist is donating the proceeds to the Open Earth Foundation to combat climate change.
The NFT artwork titled “OCEAN FRONT” is part of Beeple’s “EVERYDAYS” series.
Sun won the auction, outbidding music production house 3FMusic in the final stretch.
Beeple, whose real name is Mike Winkelmann, thanked all of those involved in the auction on Twitter.
“THIS is what we need to enact real meaningful change… to work TOGETHER instead of fighting one another,” he tweeted.
Justin Sun and Beeple NFTs
This isn’t the first time Sun has bid for one of Beeple’s NFT artworks. Sun explained in a Twitter thread how he was beaten out in the last few seconds of an auction hosted by Christie’s auction house.
Sun is referring to the auction of Beeple’s Everydays: the First 5,000 Days which sold for an impressive $69 million to partially anonymous NFT collector Metakovan.
In the thread, Sun explained how he was outbid and that there could be improvements to Christie’s online platform. He said his last bid of $70 million wasn’t accepted by the system.
However, this successful bid means Sun has finally got his hands on a Beeple original, at a cheaper cost — and for a good cause.
NFTs For Open Digital Technology
The piece by Beeple is one of eight nature-oriented NFTs auctioned off as part of the “Carbon Drop” initiative. One last piece has its bid open, with the others all sold.
The funds from the auctions of all the artworks are going towards the Open Earth Foundation. This is an initiative to “develop open digital infrastructure for improved management of planet Earth.”
NFTs, much like other tokens, consume large amounts of energy when minted. This has led to significant criticism of the boom in NFT popularity as some consider it to be another polluting technological fad.
However, as the auction is about preventing further climate destruction, the NFTs up for sale are carbon net-neutral. Each artist received 60 carbon offsets. This assisted in compensating for the underlying emissions from the NFT minting.
Disclaimer
BeInCrypto has reached out to company or individual involved in the story to get an official statement about the recent developments, but it has yet to hear back.