The first text message in history, transmitted by the British operator Vodafone on December 3, 1992, will be auctioned Tuesday in the form of NFT, these certified digital goods that are shaking up the cultural market, during a sale organized by the Aguttes house in France.
Received at the time by Richard Jarvis, collaborator of Vodafone, during the Christmas holidays, the text message consists of 15 characters to say “Merry Christmas” (Merry Christmas).
The future buyer, who will be able to make his payment in cryptocurrency, will become the exclusive owner of a digital and unique replica of the original communication protocol that transmitted the world’s first text message.
The operator Vodafone has indicated that it will donate the proceeds of the sale to UNHCR, the United Nations refugee agency.
Almost unknown a year ago, NFTs are presented as a certificate of authenticity for an object, virtual or real, based on technology. blockchain, a tamper-proof system that also authenticates cryptocurrency exchange transactions.
An NFT is unique and cannot be exchanged for an equivalent, hence its name: ” Non-Fungible Token ”, Which means“ non-fungible token ”in French.
They represent, for some, the new goose that lays the golden eggs of the contemporary art market and in a few months have become essential auction houses, reaching prices of several million dollars – the record for a work. fully digital by American artist Beeple, with 69.3 million in March at Christie’s.