LONDON: According to the auction platform, a non-fungible token (NFT) commemorating Andy Murray’s 2013 Wimbledon victory sold for US$177,777 on Monday. Last month, the Scottish tennis player announced that a series of blockchain-based artifacts commemorating his Wimbledon victory will be available for purchase on WENEW, a platform that distributes films of cultural and historical occasions in the form of NFTs.
On the blockchain, an NFT is a crypto asset that marks ownership of a digital property such as an image, video, or text. It can be seen or downloaded by anybody, but only the buyer can claim ownership. Murray’s Wimbledon “moment” will not be sold with the copyright to the video. They will, however, receive a small digital screen to display it on, two tickets to the 2022 men’s Wimbledon finals on Centre Court, the opportunity to play tennis with Murray, and autographed souvenirs. Murray first learned about NFTs in March, when American digital artist Beeple sold an NFT artwork at Christie’s for US$69.3 million. Beeple is a co-founder of WENEW. “I’m still learning about NFTs,” Murray told Reuters via email. “But it seems like a fascinating area, and one I’m sure more sportsmen and content creators will be getting involved in.”
Pranksy, an NFT aficionado, told Reuters that he was the buyer.
In addition to the main “moment” depicting Murray’s match-winning point, the site sold over 600 limited edition NFTs depicting different moments from Murray’s 2013 victory, with prices ranging from US$49 to US$4,999 each.
Murray stated that he does not hold any cryptocurrencies or crypto assets such as NFTs, but that he is learning more about them every day and that he would consider purchasing an NFT “moment” from WENEW in the future.
Murray, who won gold in the Olympic Games in London in 2012 and Rio in 2016, will defend his championship in Tokyo.
(Elizabeth Howcroft contributed reporting, and Giles Elgood edited the piece.)/n
