The first text message ever sent, reading “Merry Christmas”, was sold this week for e107 000 (about R1.9 million) as a ‘Non-Fungible Token’ at a Paris auction house.
The text, sent on December 3, 1992, was put up for auction by the British telecoms company Vodafone.
Vodafone engineer Neil Papworth sent the SMS from his computer to a manager in the UK, who received it on his 2kg “Orbitel” telephone – similar to a desk phone but cordless and with a handle.
“They were in the middle of end-of-year events so he sent him the message ‘Merry Christmas’,” said Maximilien Aguttes, head of development for the Aguttes Auction House.
Non-Fungible Tokens, or NFTs, are a type of digital asset that has surged in popularity this year, with NFT artworks selling…