In a first, Rhino horn NFT sold for $7,000 at auction in South Africa
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Proceeds from the sale will go to the private Black Rock Rhino conservancy, home to 200 rhinos that are able to breed while protected from poachers
For the first time, a non-fungible token (NFT) of a Rhino’s horn was sold at an auction in South Africa in a bid to raise money to protect real rhinos.
According to reports, a Cape Town businessman paid 105,000 rands (US $6,850) for the digital horn, which he plans to place into a trust for his children.
“If worst-case scenario, if rhinos go into complete disarray then I would still own a rhino horn, because the NFT is a token of the physical rhino horn,” Charl Jacobs told AFP.
Proceeds from the sale will go to the private Black Rock Rhino conservancy, home to 200 rhinos that are able to breed while protected from poachers.
“We are doubling our population every four years. So, it’s a really important conservation project," conservationist Derek Lewitton told AFP.
“But it costs a fortune. If you don’t want to get poached, you have to spend a ton in terms of manpower and security infrastructure. and this a way to help us fund that.”
Of late, NFTs are becoming popular among art collectors who are splurging millions of dollars on digital drawings, music, and videos.
An NFT is a digital asset that represents real-world objects like art, music, in-game items, videos and sometimes even memes.
An NFT’s authenticity is certified by blockchain technology and can be bought and sold online. According to CoinDesk, $174 million has been spent on NFTs since late November 2017.
Poachers killed at least 249 rhinos in South Africa during the first six months of the year -- 83 more than in the first half of 2020, according to reports.
(With inputs from agencies)