Sotheby’s Metaverse announces latest and largest NFT charity auction

Proceeds will go towards Sostento, a nonprofit that supports frontline public health workers.

Sotheby’s, the world’s oldest art and luxury auction house, announced its collaboration with the public health care advocate and nonprofit organization Sostento to auction off its latest NFT collection via the Sotheby’s Metaverse. The auction titled Gifted: The 140 Collection is considered to be Sotheby’s “biggest NFT charity auction ever,” with all of its proceeds going towards Sostento. 

The NFTs were originally gifted by Twitter as part of a giveaway of 140 NFTs to 140 random followers in June of this year. Its recipients became known as “The Besties.” Now, 7 of these Besties have elected to sell the full set of 7 NFTs and support Sostento frontline health care workers in their efforts against the Covid-19 pandemic and the opioid overdose crisis.

The NFT giveaway followed Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey’s $2.9 million sale of the first tweet ever on the platform as an NFT in March 2021. Proceeds from that particular sale aided the Covid-19 response in Africa.

In an announcement shared with Cointelegraph, Cassandra Hatton, Sotheby’s Global Head of Science and Popular Culture said:

“It is inspiring to work not only alongside an organization like Sostento, but also with the group of Besties who recognize the significance of their NFTs and are harnessing that power for a good cause.”

Among Sostento’s partners is the Giving Block, which provides a platform for mission-driven charities, organizations, universities and faith-based groups of all sizes to utilize cryptocurrency and accept crypto funding.

Proceeds raised from this sale will be processed by the Giving Block, before being “invested directly into fulfilling our mission to help frontline healthcare workers save lives,” according to Joe Agoada, Sostento CEO.

Related: Paris Hilton and Pranksy collections featured by Sotheby’s new NFT platform

Sotheby’s is the first auction house to launch a dedicated marketplace for NFTs, Sotheby’s Metaverse. Launched last month, the dedicated platform will exclusively host all of Sotheby’s NFT sales.