Sotheby's Metaverse Gears for 'Biggest NFT Charity Auction', Proceeds Will Go to Healthcare Workers

Sotheby's has put up a series of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) for auction, with plans to donate the proceeds to frontline healthcare workers. The auction house's virtual platform Sotheby's Metaverse has partnered with healthcare-focussed non-profit Sostento as part of its initiative. A series of NFTs have been put up for auction on the Sotheby's Metaverse website under the title “Gifted: The 140 Collection.” The price range of these NFTs lies between $1,000 (roughly Rs. 74,000) and $2,200 (roughly Rs. 1.6 lakh), as listed on the website.

NFTs are valuable virtual collectibles, inspired by real-life elements like sketches, artworks, and more. Collectors can purchase these NFTs with fiat money or cryptocurrencies.

The NFTs being auctioned in this project were actually gifted to 140 random Twitter followers in June. These winners were called the Besties, out of which, seven have come forward to sell their holdings and help the frontline workers.

“The NFTs illustrated the many facets of Twitter, from the first iterations of its logo to its 140-character limit. Now, seven of those lucky strangers have united to sell a full set of seven NFTs with proceeds going towards Sostento, an organisation that gives vital support to frontline public health workers,” Sotheby's Metaverse has written in a post, describing the collection.

Images and videos of many of the actionable NFTs have emerged on Twitter under the hashtag, #Gifted140.

“It is inspiring to work not only alongside an organisation like Sostento, but also with the group of Besties who recognise the significance of their NFTs and are harnessing that power for a good cause,” CoinTelegraph quoted Cassandra Hatton, Sotheby's Global Head of Science and Popular Culture as saying.

The biddings are open till December 1.

NFT sales volume surged to $10.7 billion (roughly Rs. 79,820 crore) in the third quarter of 2021, up more than eightfold from the previous quarter, according to data from market tracker DappRadar.

Surging sales and hefty prices on NFTs — items which do not physically exist — have baffled many but the multi-fold growth shows little or no depreciation whatsoever.