The first text message in history, transmitted by the operator Vodafone on December 3, 1992, was auctioned Tuesday in the form of NFT for 107,000 euros – 132,680 euros (193,354 Canadian dollars) after adding auction fees , during a sale organized by the Aguttes house in France.
The buyer, whose detailed identity is not known, is Canadian and works in the new technology sector. He is now the exclusive owner of a unique digital replica of the original communications protocol that transmitted this text.
Received at the time by Richard Jarvis, collaborator of Vodafone, the text message is composed of 15 characters to say “Merry Christmas” (“Joyeux Noël” in French).
The operator Vodafone had previously indicated that it would donate the proceeds of the sale to the UNHCR, the United Nations refugee agency, or 107,000 euros less the fees of the sales company.
The “Non-Fungible Token” (NFT), or in French a “non-fungible token”, is a new type of digital asset, like cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, which uses blockchain technology ( blockchain), an authentication directory shared between a multitude of individuals. An NFT is unique and cannot be exchanged for an equivalent.
Among the attendees in the room, Luigi Caradonna, an 18-year-old Swiss entrepreneur who founded a blockchain-based video game company, gave up when the bids exceeded 75,000 euros.
“I told myself that it would be interesting to have this piece of history, to keep it as active until next year and to sell it next Christmas,” he told AFP.
Almost unknown a year ago, the NFTs 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 millions of dollars. dollars – the record for an entirely digital work by American artist Beeple with 69.3 million in March at Christie’s.