The first text message sent, wishing “Merry Christmas”, was sold on Tuesday for 107,000 euros ($613,800) as a non-fungible token (NFT) at a Paris auction house.
The text, sent on December 3, 1992, was put up for auction by the British telecommunications company Vodafone.
Vodafone engineer Neil Papworth sent the SMS from his computer to a manager in the UK, who received it on his 2 kg (4 lb) “Orbitel” phone—similar to a desk phone, but cordless and with a strap.
“They were in the middle of holiday events, so he sent the ‘Merry Christmas’ message,” said Maximilien Aguttes, head of development at Aguttes Auction House.
NFTs are a type of digital asset that has grown in popularity this year, with NFT artwork selling for millions of dollars.
Marketed since around 2017, these digital objects, which include images, video, music and text, exist in the blockchain, a record of transactions kept on networked computers. Each NFT has a unique digital signature.
The sale of intangibles is not legal in France, so the auction house packaged the text message in a digital frame, displaying the code and communication protocol, Aguttes said.
The buyer will receive a replica of the original communication protocol that transmitted the SMS and the proceeds will go to UNHCR (United Nations Agency for Refugees).
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