The highest bidder offered USD 47,115 for one of the three tokens. The famous magazine believes that Bitcoin “challenges” the fiat money model.
There does not seem a limit to the growing interest in entering the market for non-fungible tokens (NFTs). The TIME magazine, the first American newsweekly, recently announced the launch of three tokens. One of them asks a question about the death of national fiat currencies: “Is fiat dead?”
The magazine announced that the NFTs will allude to “incredibly prophetic” covers and another that they created for this occasion. The covers, in the form of tokens, will be up for auction on the Ethereum-based platform SuperRare.
The Three NFTs at Auction
The tokens, called TIME NFTs, are covers with a black background and strong red letters. The first one, which says “Is God Dead?”, corresponds to a publication from 1966. It raised a wave of criticism among deeply believing people in the United States at that time.
Religion editor John Elson said that this question “torments believers, who may secretly fear that He is, and atheists, who may suspect that He is not.” The token currently has a bid from user @danielsanogueira for 10 ETH, equivalent to about USD 17 thousand.
The second NFT at auction is the TIME cover from April 3rd, 2017, which asked “Is Truth Dead?” On that occasion, the magazine raised the question before public opinion after the first year of President Donald Trump’s administration.
“Just as many said that they believed in God in 1966, many today would say that they believe in Truth. However, we find ourselves having an intense debate about its role and power in the face of a president who treats it like a toy,” said TIME editor Nancy Gibbs.
This token, at auction on SuperRare, currently has a bid of 11 ETH (about USD 18 thousand) from user @scottbelsky.
The third NFT points to the advancement of cryptocurrencies, which Bitcoin leads, and their dispute with fiat money. This new tokenized cover is a question about the death of currencies that States issue: “Is fiat dead?”
Relevance of the Words Fiat and the World of NFTs
“Even though Americans do not use the word ‘Fiat’ as commonly as ‘God’ and ‘Truth’, it affects all world citizens. Fiat money is a government-issued currency with no physical backing, like gold or silver, but that of the government issuing it. Cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Dogecoin are challenging this model,” according to the magazine’s website.
DW Pine, TIME’s creative director, finds it appealing that casual readers do not know the real meaning of the word fiat. He also says that they do not understand the “crazy and lucrative world of NFTs.”
The last token has been the most expensive at the auction so far. User @victoriawu bid ETH 27.5 (about USD 47 thousand) for the NFT.
The fever for non-fungible tokens has reached records of USD 500 million in trading volume between February and March. The digital collectibles market has exceeded sales for all of 2020 when it reached USD 300 million.
According to LinkedIn, TIME magazine is looking for a CFO who is familiar with Bitcoin. The candidates for the position should have among their characteristics that of “comfort with Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies.”
By Alexander Salazar
