Making Money at Berkeley

From Inside Higher Ed: As NFTs dominate the moment, some colleges are cashing in on the craze.

An NFT—short for nonfungible token—is a speculative, digital asset that is unique and cannot be replicated or replaced. People often compare NFTs to original works of art; while many people own prints or replicas of the Mona Lisa, Leonardo da Vinci’s original painting hangs in the Louvre. Also like art, an NFT’s value depends on how many other people would pay to own it, and how much they would pay.

Seems to apply to NFTs
as well as hay.

In June, the University of California, Berkeley, auctioned an NFT based on the Nobel Prize–winning research of immunologist James Allison, who helped establish immunotherapy as a fourth pillar of cancer treatment. It netted the university about $50,000. 

Berkeley auctioned the NFT via Foundation, an online marketplace for NFTs. Using an existing platform like this one is a good way for colleges and universities to experiment with NFT auctions, said Jeremy Coffey, a senior associate attorney at Perlman and Perlman who counsels nonprofits on digital currency and new fundraising platforms...

Full story at:

https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2022/01/20/colleges-cash-nfts-new-fundraising-mechanism.