Former MLB Player Sells Charity Embedded Non-Fungible Token for $120K

Retired baseball player turned artist, Micah Johnson, has sold his Non-Fungible Token (NFT) art piece on the Async Art platform. The piece, “ˈsä-v(ə-)rən-tē” (pronounced “sovereignty”), seeks to empower two African American kids who had a rough start in life with bitcoin donations on their respective birthdays embedded within the artwork.

Since launching in February 2020, Async Art have seen several triple digit art sales on their platform. This artwork is one of the highest sold single NFT artwork at $120K, the previous being “Block 21” (bundled with a physical artwork) which sold at Christie’s for $130K and Matt Kane’s “Right Place & Right Time” at $100K. The bidding for “ˈsä-v(ə-)rən-tē” kicked off at $70K, an amount most digital artists only dream of reaching, and was sold to a private collector last Friday night.

“The mission of this work started by simply wanting to empower them by letting them see themselves in high-art, but quickly turned into one of the most impactful use cases for Bitcoin and blockchain technology the world has ever seen. Through the technological vision of Async Art, society will be able to directly impact lives like never before,” said Johnson.

This is a picture of the piece:

Every year on the boys’ birthdays, the artwork is programmed to display a QR code that links to a bitcoin wallet. A global audience can now celebrate Jacque and Rayden’s birthdays on November 6th and August 10th, as well as donate in confidence that 100% of the wallet will be turned over to the boys.

With every year’s donation, the door between the kids and the astronaut will slowly open, signaling that they are one step closer to achieving their dreams. Upon turning eighteen, the children will permanently disappear from the digital artwork- signaling that they have walked through this “door of opportunity.” This will mark the end of a decade-long journey with #BirthdayBitcoin.

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From December 7th, 2020 to January 10th, 2021, the piece can be viewed on a billboard in Downtown LA, at 901 W. Olympic Blvd., Los Angeles CA.