UC Berkeley to auction off digital mementos of Nobel prize discoveries

The University of California, Berkeley is auctioning off the patent disclosures behind two Nobel prize-winning discoveries made there by selling them as nonfungible tokens (NFTs), which have recently gained significant popularity as a way to sell digital assets. The scheme is part of fundraising effort to finance basic research at the university.

On 27 May, UC Berkeley minted an NFT related to the development of a cancer immunotherapy for which James Allison shared a medicine Nobel prize in 2018 while at the university. A 24-hour auction will begin as soon as 2 June.