The history of communication hit a major milestone in 1992 when the world’s first SMS was sent via Vodafone’s network. The receiver of the message was an employee from the company named Richard Jarvis. The SMS which consisted of 15 letters that read Merry Christmas was auctioned by Vodafone on Tuesday as an NFT for thousands of dollars!
Paris Auction House
Vodafone participated in the 2021 Paris Auction House event. They sold the World’s first SMS as ‘Non-Fungible Token’ for a high price of 107,000 euros($121,000)!
The bid for the NFT was quite high as dozens of people wanted its ownership. One of the bidders was 18 year old entrepreneur Luigi Caradonna. However, he backed out as the bid rose over 75000 euros. He shared his reason for buying the NFT with AFP.
“I thought it would be interesting to have this piece of history to hold it as an asset until next year and to sell it next Christmas.”
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The bidder who won the NFT did not reveal his identity. All we know is that he is a Canadian working in the tech department. He now exclusively owns the exact replica of the original communication protocol which was used to transmit the SMS. He paid in Ether cryptocurrency as a major point of selling the SMS as an NFT was to merge a 30-year-old innovation with the current “state of the art” technology.
Maximilian Aguttes, the founder of the Auction House, also expressed his enthusiasm for selling the NFT. He said,
“The first printed book, the first phone call, the first email – all these inventions have changed our lives and communication in the world. This first text message received in 1992 is a historic testament to human and technological progress – we are delighted to be able to support the sale of this landmark piece of history for this cause.”
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Proceeds to Charity
Vodafone sold the SMS as an NFT in order to support the UNHCR. This is a United Nations Refugee Agency that helps people who are forcibly displaced. The entire amount, i.e. $121,000 is given to the agency.
“Through this combination of groundbreaking tech and movement for social good, UNHCR can continue helping refugees and people who’ve been forced from home, giving them an opportunity to transform their lives and build better futures for themselves, their loved ones, and communities they’re living in,” added UNHCR’s private sector partnerships service head, Christian Schaake.
