By Elizabeth Howcroft
LONDON, June 24 (Reuters) - Andy Murray is cashing in on the
craze for non-fungible tokens (NFTs) by selling the "moment" he
won the Wimbledon tennis tournament in 2013 in the latest such
high-profile auction.
NFTs are crypto assets which record ownership of a digital
item, such as an image, video or text, on blockchain. While
anyone can view or download the asset in question, only the
buyer can claim the status of being its official owner.
So the buyer of Murray's Wimbledon NFT will not own the
copyright of the video footage, but a crypto asset which refers
to a video of the moment the Scottish ace first won the coveted
lawn tennis title.
Artists, musicians, sports clubs and social media
influencers are among those to have embraced NFTs as a way of
making money from their achievements.
NFTs exploded in popularity in early 2021, attracting
hundreds of millions of dollars in investments and prompting
concerns of a bubble as prices soared. The buying frenzy
continued even after cryptocurrency prices plunged last month.
Murray's auction plan was announced on Thursday by NFT
marketplace WENEW, which was set up by American digital artist
Mike Winkelmann, who is also known as Beeple.
"The Wimbledon Final in 2013 was such a big moment in my
life. I decided to work with WENEW and Wimbledon to turn this
moment into an NFT so that fans can share in that memorable
day," Murray said in a statement.
In March, an NFT of a Beeple artwork sold for $69.3 million
at Christie's, putting him in the top three most valuable living
artists.
CELEBRITY ACCESS
Beeple's new platform, which runs on the ethereum
blockchain, will sell short video clips in the form of tradable
NFTs. Buyers get a small physical screen for displaying the
video and in some cases perks such as celebrity access.
"Giving people the chance to collect these things is a
different experience than just viewing them on YouTube," Beeple
added.
In the case of Murray's NFT they also get two tickets to
Centre Court for the 2022 men's Wimbledon finals, a chance to
play tennis with the 34-year-old and signed souvenirs.
Also on the block are 20 NFTs of the moment Murray lifted
his trophy at $4,999 each, 50 of his post-win interview for $499
each, 100 of his interview after his 2012 Wimbledon loss for $99
each, and 500 of a video of 2013 Murray highlights at $49 each.
WENEW will receive a portion of the proceeds, but the
majority will go to the people involved in making the moment.
The Murray auction will be on July 2-5. Buyers will be able
to pay in the cryptocurrency ether, as well as dollars.
(Reporting by Elizabeth Howcroft;
Editing by Alexander Smith)