Unique Australian non-fungible token arrives at fire relief auction

Provenance will always be a part of non-fungible tokens, and this one comes with a unique origin story.

Animoca Brands and F1 Delta Time have joined the campaign to support the relief effort for Australian bushfires with a unique non-fungible token auction, with all funds raised going to the Crypto Fire Alliance.

To date, the Crypto Fire Alliance has mustered over $12,000 to support the Red Cross, the Australian Wildlife Rescue Organisation and the Rural Fire Service, including a $5,000 cryptocurrency donation from Australia's Mine Digital cryptocurrency exchange.

While the bushfires in New South Wales are out, relief efforts are continuing. Residents are still displaced, native wildlife is still in danger and the volunteer fire service's work is never over.

Behind the wheel

The Australia Edition 2020 F1 Delta Time racecar is an apex-level non-fungible token (NFT) racecar whose authenticity, scarcity and ownership can be independently guaranteed, verified and secured by the Ethereum blockchain.

The first F1 Delta time NFT car ever released sold for US$110,000 making it one of the most valuable NFTs ever sold at the time.

Now it's the Australia Edition's turn. It will be auctioned off for wrapped Ethereum (wETH). The auction will run until 22 March 2020, and proceeds from the sale will go to the Crypto Fire Alliance.

"Apex-level" in this case refers to its status and rarity within the F1 Delta Time game ecosystem, which influences how it will perform in the game and how much you can earn from staking the car. Apex-level is as good as it gets.

Its Australian livery is inspired by traditional Aboriginal art, harking to Australia's roots, and serving as a reminder of the importance of preserving the earth.

And even if someone else copies the car's palette, they still can't copy the car itself and all the things that make it unique – its originality and functionality as an asset to be leveraged in the F1 Delta Time ecosystem and game set to launch 2020.

This includes the ability to race the car in the upcoming F1 Delta Time game, and sell it, trade it or even use it in other blockchain games that support it. Owners will also be able to stake the vehicle. Essentially, they can lock it up for a period of time in exchange for REV, the primary F1 Delta Time game cryptocurrency. Higher rarity vehicles will attract higher yields when staked.

The value of provenance in non-fungible tokens

One of the interesting things about this particular NFT is that it will always be the car that was auctioned to raise funds for bushfire relief, and it will always have that history. That backstory is just as intrinsic to the NFT as its staking rewards or racing characteristics are, and it's one of the less-quantifiable factors that makes the car unique.

In other words, NFTs will always have a provenance. Provenance is the difference between antiques and junk, or "a hat" and "the hat Abraham Lincoln was wearing when he was shot". It's an intangible factor, but there are countless examples of markets putting incredible price tags on provenance.

Non-fungible blockchain tokens are the first time the world has ever been able to bring this concept to purely digital items. It's as close as the world has ever been to distilling concepts like "charity" into a tangible yet digital form.

Of course, it's not possible to say what any of that's worth. That's up to the market to decide, starting with the auction and then going from there.

The full cast of the Crypto Fire Alliance includes:

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Disclosure: The author holds BNB, BTC at the time of writing.

Picture: Shutterstock