Gavin Wood

Charity Bid-to-Earn Auction - May 16th-23rd, 2024

AUCTION ENDED


The Gavin Wood Charity Bid-to-Earn Auction was a great success. Over $92,000 has been raised for the DEC’s Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal, and bidders who were outbid earned almost $12,000 thanks to GBM Auction's Bid-to-Earn system!


GBM Auction (https://gbm.auction), the Bid-to-Earn auction company, organised a historic collaboration with Dr. Gavin Wood, co-founder of Ethereum and the founder of Polkadot, to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the publication of the Ethereum yellow paper and the recent release of the JAM gray paper. 


This event featured three auctions for iconic pieces of blockchain memorabilia, representing pivotal moments in the world of blockchain technology. The online auction, commenced on May 16th, 2024, during the ‘Decentralized Lugano’ conference, and ran for seven days.

Ethereum Yellow Paper

"EIP-150 Revision" version, Signed and annotated

Sold for 193,600.0002 GLMR
(~$55,950)

Polkadot White Paper

"Draft 1" version, Signed and annotated

Sold for 116,160.0003 GLMR
(~$33,570)

JAM Gray Paper

"Draft 0.1.0 Dubai" version, Signed and annotated

Sold for 60,000 GLMR
(~$17,340)

This groundbreaking auction was hosted on the Moonbeam blockchain, a parachain on Polkadot, utilising Glimmer (GLMR), the native currency of the Moonbeam chain, for bidding.  The auction was run by GBM Auctions, known for its innovative Bid-to-Earn system, which has revolutionised the auction experience for the blockchain space and seen over 70,000 auctions ho​​sted and $6M earned by bidders to date. GBM Auction's Bid-to-Earn system incentivises participation by rewarding bidders when they are outbid. This unique approach ensures an engaging and popular auction experience, benefiting both sellers and bidders alike. 

Ethereum Yellow Paper

"EIP-150 Revision" version, Annotated and signed by Gavin Wood

Sold for 193,600.0002 GLMR (~$55,950)

The Ethereum Yellow Paper, titled “Ethereum: A Secure Decentralised Generalised Transaction Ledger” is the technical document that serves as a formal specification of the Ethereum protocol. It was authored by Dr. Gavin Wood and first published in April 2014, and is today still maintained and updated with contributions from many people around the world. The yellow paper is a foundational document not only for Ethereum, but for the entire blockchain world. It provides a detailed description of the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM), Ethereum's consensus mechanism (originally the Proof of Work mechanism, but later including plans for Proof of Stake), the structure of Ethereum's blockchain, and the protocol rules governing transactions, blocks and state transitions within the Ethereum network. The yellow paper is a technical reference for developers, researchers, and anyone interested in understanding the inner workings of Ethereum at a deep level.

This yellow paper annotated and signed by Dr. Gavin Wood is the EIP-150 revision version, which crucially addressed the aftermath of the 2016 DAO hack attack, a significant event in Ethereum's history. It is the yellow paper version still accessible today from Dr. Gavin Wood’s own website. Published in 2016, this version was proposed to enhance the network's efficiency and security following the hack. By tackling concerns such as gas costs and replay attacks, this version played a pivotal role in fortifying Ethereum's ecosystem and advancing its development. This version presents Dr. Wood as Founder of Ethereum and Ethcore, which was the original name of Parity Technologies.

This yellow paper also commemorates the 10 year anniversary of its original publication. It was presented to Dr. Gavin Wood on April 18th, 2024, a decade after the first publication of the yellow paper and on the very same day he unveiled the CoreJam gray paper, presenting a vision for the future of Polkadot. Dr. Gavin Wood read the yellow paper and made five annotations to it.

This beautiful yellow paper is printed on commercial-grade 250gsm (grams per square metre) ice gold finish paper plates. Each page was custom cut to its A4 size by hand, perforated and binded with double black metal coils. 


Polkadot White Paper

"Draft 1" version, Annotated and signed by Gavin Wood

Sold for 116,160.0003 GLMR (~$33,570)

The Polkadot whitepaper, titled "Polkadot: Vision for a Heterogeneous Multi-Chain Framework," is the technical vision paper for the Polkadot network protocol, the heterogeneous extensible multi-chain. Authored by Dr. Gavin Wood alongside Robert Habermeier and Peter Czaban, it was published in 2016 and presents a vision for a scalable, interoperable blockchain framework which successfully launched 4 years after the publication of the whitepaper on May 26, 2020. The Polkadot whitepaper introduces the relay chain, parachains, and bridges to enable communication between different blockchains. It also details the Polkadot consensus mechanism, which utilises a hybrid Proof-of-Stake (PoS) and nominated Proof-of-Stake (NPoS) model to achieve consensus and maintain network security. The governance model of Polkadot is also detailed, outlining how stakeholders can participate in decision-making processes and upgrade the protocol over time.

This Polkadot white paper, annotated and signed by Dr. Gavin Wood is the original Draft 1 version, released in November 2016 and is still live on the official Polkadot network website. Dr. Gavin Wood made six hand-written annotations to this white paper before signing it.

This beautiful whitepaper is printed on commercial-grade 250gsm (grams per square metre) white matt finish paper plates with a polka dots pattern background. Each page was custom cut to its A4 size by hand, perforated and binded with double black metal coils.


JAM Gray Paper

"Draft 0.1.0 Dubai" version, Annotated and signed by Gavin Wood

Sold for 60,000 GLMR (~$17,340)

The JAM Gray Paper, titled "Join-Accumulate Machine: A semi-coherent scalable trustless VM," and authored by Dr. Gavin Wood, was released on April 18th, 2024. It introduced a groundbreaking protocol that blends the best of Polkadot and Ethereum, representing a visionary step towards a more scalable, efficient, and dynamic blockchain network. JAM is a strategic evolution in blockchain technology that addresses critical issues that have challenged previous decentralised systems. The protocol facilitates a more connected and coordinated ecosystem, which is crucial for achieving mass adoption of blockchain technologies. Its long-term impacts are likely to extend well beyond Polkadot, influencing future blockchain innovations and significantly contributing to the evolution of the entire blockchain ecosystem. By tackling key challenges and setting new performance benchmarks, CoreJam could play an instrumental role in shaping the future of blockchain technology.

This JAM gray paper is the original “DRAFT 0.1.0 DUBAI” unreleased version, dated April 5th 2024 (the first publicly released version was “DRAFT 0.1.1 DUBAI”, published on April 18th, 2024). This gray paper is one of only 200 copies ever made, which were all printed and handed over to his inner circle by Dr. Gavin Wood himself. This gray paper is the very one Dr. Gavin Wood carried with him and held over his head on stage at the TOKEN2049 Dubai conference on April 18th, 2024 as he unveiled CoreJam to the world. Dr. Gavin Wood made seven hand-written annotations to this gray paper before signing it.

The gray paper is printed on dark grey paper with a beautiful pattern inspired from the album cover of Lemonjelly.ky, the debut album by the famous British electronic music duo Lemon Jelly.


Supporting the Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal

As a gesture of solidarity and support for those in need, Dr. Gavin Wood is donating the proceeds of the auction to the Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal of the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC). The DEC provides essential assistance such as food, water, shelter, and healthcare to families in Ukraine and refugees in neighbouring countries. Known for its transparency, the DEC ensures that funds are utilised effectively to address the urgent needs of those affected by crises. GBM Auction invites esteemed technology and blockchain collectors to participate in this historic event while making a meaningful contribution to humanitarian efforts in Ukraine.


To learn more, go to https://www.dec.org.uk/appeal/ukraine-humanitarian-appeal 

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