New York Times Column Sells For $500,000 As An NFT

A journalist working for the New York Times Co NYT-owned eponymous broadsheet sold his column for over $500,000 as a non-fungible token on Thursday. 

What Happened: The journalistic piece by Kevin Roose was auctioned on the Foundation marketplace for 350 ETH or $565,915. Ethereum (ETH) traded 2.53% higher at $1,620.37 at press time.

The winning bid was made by a user who goes by the handle @3fmusic (Farzin). 

The column covered the terms of the sale which gives the auction winner the token that links to an image of the article in PNG format. No syndication, reproduction rights come along with the NFT, nor does it bestow the copyright to the column.

Farzin, contingent on the agreement, could be featured in a follow-up article by the Times and as a bonus perk the buyer will also receive a short, personalized voice-memo from Michael Barbaro the host of ‘The Daily.”

Why It Matters: “The biggest perk of all, of course, is owning a piece of history. This is the first article in the almost 170-year history of The Times to be distributed as an NFT,” wrote Roose.

The columnist was surprised at the outcome of the auction and the high bids it attracted. He said on Twitter that he could not “really believe this happened.”

The proceeds from the sale will go to the Time’s Neediest Cases Fund which supports charitable causes in New York and beyond. Since the charity does not accept cryptocurrency, the ETH will be converted to dollars first and thus the gift is not tax-deductible, as per Roose.

Other weird collectibles available as NFTs include toilet paper, pringles, a recording of farts, and sneakers.

On Thursday, Sophia, a humanoid robot, sold art created by her for $700,000. 

Price Action: New York Times shares closed almost 2.5% higher at $48.27 on Thursday and gained nearly 0.9% in the after-hours session.