The first SMS that was sent in the world is auctioned as NFT. The message was transmitted through Vodafone on December 3, 1992 and was received by Richard Jarvis, a businessman and Vodafone employee, during a Christmas party.
The company itself is the one that has put the SMS up for auction as a Non-fungible Token (NFT) in a one-time sale organized by Aguttes Auction House ( France ). The message consists of 15 letters: “Merry Christmas” (“Merry Christmas ” in English).
” The mother of all courier services goes up for auction, ” said Colman Deegan, CEO of Vodafone Spain. In this way, we are uniting the pioneering spirit of two centuries ”. ” Technology pioneers can change the world, when they serve and connect people, ” continued Deegan.
Whoever ends up buying the SMS will be able to make the payment through the cryptocurrency Ether. In this way, Vodafone explains that the bidder will acquire ” exclusive ownership of a detailed and unique replica of the original communication protocol that transmitted the world’s first SMS “.
The date they have set to hold the auction is December 21, 2021 electronically. As reported by the company, the money they earn thanks to the bid will be donated in full to UNHCR , which is the United Nations agency to help refugees.
In this way, Deegan ensures that Vodafone achieves two major milestones: “We immortalized the world’s first SMS on blockchain and auctioned it as NFT for a good cause.”
It must be taken into account that the transmission of the first SMS, which took place almost three decades ago, represented a before and after in the way we communicated from mobile devices . Vodafone details that in 1999 it was already possible “to send text messages through multiple networks, which accelerated their use and popularity .”
As the company says in its press release , “ without the first ‘Merry Christmas’ sent to a mobile phone, our world would be less connected today ”.
From SMS to NFT
Vodafone predicts that blockchain technology is the beginning of a new digital era just like SMS were in the 90s and 2000s. The company emphasizes in the last year, the NFTs ” generated and stored in blockchain have finally experienced his breakthrough ”.
This technology has different uses, from the ownership of digital works of art and collectibles to virtual items for online video games and domains for the web . Vodafone explains that the term “non-fungible” of NFTs means that they are not interchangeable, so the user who acquires one can save it in their own blockchain wallet and prove their ownership.
