The Knesset on Wednesday joined the international trend of creating an NFT – a non-fungible token, or unique digital information package – for new President Isaac Herzog, in honor of his swearing-in.
Special NFTs have been sold recently by CNN and have become popular around the world. An NFT of the original World Wide Web code recently sold for $5.4 million.
Just before his inauguration, Herzog received a one-of-a-kind NFT with a copy of the original oath signed by his late father, Israel’s sixth president, Chaim Herzog.
“I am excited to present President Herzog with a special memento of his father that includes the oath he signed 38 years ago,” Knesset Speaker Mickey Levy said. “It is a great honor for the Knesset to implement one of the world’s most innovative technologies in order to preserve such a significant historical document for future generations.”
The Knesset is apparently the first parliament in the world to create an NFT, a sensation that has taken the world of collectibles by storm through blockchain technology.
Now, the Knesset is using this technology to lend the President’s Residence a copy of the oath of office signed by the late father of the president 38 years ago.
In the file now published for the first time, president Herzog senior pledged “allegiance to the State of Israel and its laws and to faithfully carry out my duties as president of the state,” just as his son did on Wednesday from the speaker’s podium in the Knesset plenum.
Acting on guidance from Knesset Director-General Gil Segal, the staff of the Knesset’s Technology and Computing Division produced the unique image file using a secure and encrypted mobile device. It will subsequently be lent to staff members of the computer department at the President’s Residence.
The idea formed a week ago, when the oath signed by the late president Chaim Herzog was found in the depths of the Knesset Archives. The Knesset employees were very moved by the historic document and suggested giving the new president an elegant copy of it as a gift just before his own inauguration.
The innovative idea sought to bring together the past and the present and make history as the first parliament to utilize this technology. The President’s Residence will hold a copy of the oath of office as an NFT during Isaac Herzog’s term.
The technology used by the Knesset is a special type of cryptographic protocol, which represents a unique digital asset. Unlike currencies such as Bitcoin and other tokens, an NFT is, by definition, non-fungible and unique.
In recent months, NFTs have become one of the biggest sensations in the art world; artist Mike Winkelmann recently sold an NFT for a record price of $69.3 million, the third-highest price ever for a work by a living artist.
Although creating the file cost several hundred shekels, the worldwide success of NFTs could boost its value to millions of dollars.