The Economist, one of the most well-respected financial magazines, both online and off, recently announced that it would be selling its one-of-a-kind DeFi Rabbit Hole NFT. The NFT was created from the company’s September 18, 2021 magazine cover, a cover dubbed, “Down the rabbit hole: The promise and perils of decentralized finance.”
Well, that sale went off without a hitch, and you won’t believe how much money the company raised for charity through the auction.
The DeFi Rabbit Hole NFT Sells For 99.9 ETH
The magazine cover, featuring an Alice and Wonderland Drawing of Alice and a rabbit looking at a rabbit hole with decentralized coins flying out of it, was a big hit.
According to an article published by the famed magazine, the DeFi Rabbit Hole NFT brought in a whopping 99.9 ETH. At the time of the sale, that translated to more than $420,000. As promised the proceeds from the sale will be going to The Economists Educational Foundation after all fees associated with the sale are dedicated.
The artwork featured on the cover of the magazine and the NFT was an adaptation of Sir John Tenniel’s original Allice in Wonderland drawing that was revised by digital artist Justin Metz.
In the article surrounding the sale, The Economist said:
“We have always written about the potential of technology to change the world, be it self-driving cars or gene therapies. NFTs, and the crypto infrastructure they sit on, could transform finance. By minting and selling our own NFT, we are experiencing this first-hand.”
Why Was the NFT Worth So Much Money?
At first glance, 99.9ETH, or $420,000, seems like a massive amount of money to pay for a piece of digital art. That’s especially the case when you consider the fact that the average home in the United States sells for under $270. So, what makes the DeFi Rabbit Hole NFT so valuable?
There are several factors at play here, the most significant of which include:
- The Economist. The Economist is a massive name, one that represents a magazine people have been reading for 178 years. The person who won the auction now owns the first, and only, NFT ever sold by the publication. It’s a piece of history, a true digital artifact!
- Alice in Wonderland. Alice in Wonderland is an iconic movie, and the NFT featured a digital parody of Sir John Tenniel’s original drawing for the concept. Yet again, pointing to the fact that the token is now a valuable piece of history.
- One-Off. On top of the reasons above, the token was a one-off, meaning there have been no copies of it sold in the past, and there will never be another copy sold in the future. Considering the factors mentioned above, there was obviously a high level of demand for the digital artwork, and as the law of supply and demand suggests, with only one available, the price was expected to be extremely high.
- New Technology. Finally, non-fungible tokens are a relatively new technology. Sure, they’ve been around for a few years, but it wasn’t until this year that widespread consumer adoption began to take place. So, the owner of the DeFi Rabbit Hole NFT not only owns a piece of The Economist’s history, they now own a piece of history representing a pivotal shift in the internet and digital ownership as we know it.
- Ethereum. Finally, the ethereum blockchain is one of the most popular blockchains in existence today, and it’s expected that the cryptocurrency it houses, ETH, will continue to rise in value. Because The Economist’s token lives on the ethereum blockchain, the purchase was as much an investment in the blockchain itself as it was in the art the token validates.
The Economist Isn’t the Only Major News Outlet Jumping Into NFTs
The sale of the DeFi Rabbit Hole NFT is an exciting one, but it’s not the first time a major news network has decided to dive into the non-fungible token industry. In fact, two major outlets have already done so:
- The New YorkTimes. The New York Times recently converted a column of its best-selling magazine into a token, selling it for a whopping $562,000 USD, yet another whopping sale from which proceeds were given to charity.
- TIME. TIME Magazine has its finger deep in the industry. In fact, the magazine has an ongoing collaboration with Cool Cats as well as several other non-fungible token ventures.
The Bottom Line
The bottom line here is simple. History is being made every day in the world of NFTs. With the sale of the DeFi Rabbit Hole token, yet another major media outlet has joined the fray, following The New York Times and TIME. As the demand for this digital art form continues to grow, we can expect to see more and more big names diving into the industry.
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