The World’s First Text Message Sold as an NFT for $150,000 USD
Vodafone’s simple “Merry Christmas.”
Vodafone has sold the world’s first text message as an NFT for roughly $150,000 USD.
The message was originally sent from Vodafone programmer Neil Papworth to the then director Richard Jarvis more than 29 years ago, and since it happened to be December at the time, the text simply read “Merry Christmas.” Now packaged as an NFT, this piece of telecommunications history managed to auction off in Paris earlier this week for €132,680 EUR, or approximately $150,367 USD.
The winner, who decided to stay anonymous, will receive a copy of the text message’s communication protocol, a digital frame showing an animated phone receiving the SMS, and of course, a certificate of authenticity. Most importantly, in the giving spirit of Christmas, Vodafone will be donating all of the auction’s proceeds to the United Nations Refugee Agency to help those who have unfortunately been forcibly displaced from their homes and countries.
In other related news, the entry-level sale price of a Bored Ape is now nearly the same as a CryptoPunk.
