The nostalgic people seem to have found an ideal ally in non-fungible tokens. This week the first SMS sent in history was sold as an NFT , in exchange for a large sum of money. The auction was organized by Vodafone, the company that has the merit of having taken the initial step for one of the great communicational revolutions of the last 30 years. The price at which the bid was closed? The equivalent of 132,680 euros in Ether.
The idea to auction the first text message ever sent as an NFT was announced in mid-December. The sale process took place on Tuesday 21 in Paris, through Aguttes, the first independent auction house in France. The auctioned item was left in the hands of an anonymous buyer , as reported.
The aforementioned first SMS was sent by the programmer Neil Papworth from his computer on December 3, 1992. Its recipient was Richard Jarvis, then director of Vodafone, who received the message – which simply said Merry Christmas; that is, Merry Christmas in English— on an Orbitel 901 phone.
What Vodafone auctioned for more than 130 thousand euros was a replica of the communication protocol created by the telecommunications company that documents the sending and receiving of the SMS in question . The purchase of the NFT also includes an animated version of the aforementioned copy, as well as a 29 x 19.5-centimeter digital frame with a 3D animation of the mobile when it receives the first text message in history.
It is worth noting that the money obtained from the NFT auction will be donated to the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) .
The first SMS, another historical technological element that becomes an NFT
Vodafone's decision to sell a replica of the communication protocol that represents the sending of the first SMS is the most recent historical technological element to be marketed in the form of NFT . Let's remember that this year something similar happened with the source code of the WWW, in an event organized by Tim Berners-Lee; while a few weeks ago Jimmy Wales, the founder of Wikipedia, did the same with the first edition made on the cover of the Free Encyclopedia.
In 1992, I had no idea how popular texting would become and that this would lead to emojis and messaging apps used by millions. I recently told my kids that I sent that first text message. Looking back in hindsight, it is clear that the Christmas message I sent was a pivotal moment in the history of mobile devices.
Neil Papworth, to Aguttes Auction House It is true that SMS no longer have the use of other times, but they remain current and on a par with modern messaging services. And with the NFT auctioned, that original message from December 1992 already has its copy on the blockchain , and in the hands of its new owner.
