CNBC Announces First-Ever NFT, Honoring Mark Haines

CNBC announced that it is honoring Mark Haines with its first-ever NFT. An NFT, or non-fungible token, is a piece of data stored on a blockchain that certifies a digital asset to be unique. Haines was a CNBC anchor who died unexpectedly on May 24, 2011.

The NFT will highlight the day that Haines called the bottom in the markets during the financial crisis.

What Happened: On March 10, 2009, Haines appeared on CNBC's "Squawk On The Street" and called the bottom for financial markets after they had lost over 50% of value over the previous 17 months. "I think we're at a bottom," Haines said.

A year after the call, the S&P 500 was up 73% off its lows from that day. 

The Auction: The moment has been recreated by artists and will be auctioned as an NFT. One collector will be able to purchase the unique video of the call made live on CNBC. In addition, 50 GIFs of the famous bottom call are also being sold for $1,000 each.

Proceeds from the sale will go to Autism Speaks and the Council for Economic Education. CNBC noted that everything it does in the NFT space will be carbon neutral.

The auction will be live on mintable.app/CNBC until 10:30 a.m. EDT on Wednesday.

Photo by GregCypes on Flickr