Paris Hilton and Bill Ackman Back $300 Million NFT Foundation

(Bloomberg) -- Paris Hilton is “obsessed” with non-fungible tokens -- and now she’s backing a $300 million organization that is bidding to take the boom in digital art to the next level.

Origyn, a Swiss foundation that offers smartphone users a way to authenticate objects of value with digital certificates, has raised $20 million from investors including Hilton and Bill Ackman’s Table Management, according to a statement Tuesday.

The technology offered by the nonprofit foundation deploys recognition and identification techniques created by experts. 

“I launched my first NFT drop in March 2020, and have been obsessed with NFTs and the never-ending possibilities of this technology ever since,” Hilton said in an email to Bloomberg News. “NFTs are the future for creators, creatives and collectors, and this is just the beginning.”

The fundraising effort comes ahead of the foundation’s public token release and will be used for research and development. The certification platform was founded in October 2020 on the blockchain Internet Computer to generate digital value for art, collectibles, digital media and luxury goods.

NFTs shot to prominence earlier this year amid enthusiasm about everything from Beeple’s “Everydays: The First 5,000 Days,” which sold for $69.3 million, to series like Bored Ape Yacht Club and Cryptopunks. But the speculative sector has been marred by pump-and-dump schemes, while many tokens are in fact dud investments.

Hilton, with a sector track record of more than a year and a half, has received praise for her commitment from the likes of WhaleShark, one of the world’s biggest NFT collectors. 

It’s not her first investing foray either. In June, the New York Post reported she was backing Origin Protocol, a decentralized NFT platform, one of several NFT-related moves for the reality TV star.

“The potential of NFTs for artists blows my mind, especially when you consider the value it will unlock on things like secondary sales,” she said in emailed comments. “I will continue to invest and leverage my platform to spread the word about the potential of this incredible new way to think about creativity and art.”

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