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‘Merry Christmas’: First SMS auctions for 107,000 euros as NFT

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Agence France-Presse

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="Aguttes auction house head of development Maximilien Aguttes holds a non-fungible token (NFT), replica of the original communication protocol that transmitted the first SMS text message ever sent, before its auction by Britain" s="" in="" near="" December="" Christian="" src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2021/reuters/12/21/20211221_france-auction-text-message-preview.jpg"/><figcaption>Aguttes auction house head of development Maximilien Aguttes holds a non-fungible token (NFT), replica of the original communication protocol that transmitted the first SMS text message ever sent, before its auction by Britain&#x27;s Vodafone, in Neuilly-sur-Seine, near Paris, France, December 20, 2021. <em>Christian Hartmann, Reuters</em></figcaption></figure></div><p>The first SMS ever sent over a mobile phone in 1992 was sold Tuesday as an NFT at auction for 107,000 euros ($120,600, P6 million), the Aguttes auction house said.</p><p>The buyer, whose identity was not disclosed but is a Canadian involved in the tech sector, is now the owner of a unique digital replica of the first SMS message in the form of a Non-Fungible Token, or NFT.</p><p>The first SMS was a 15-character message sent to Vodafone employee Richard Jarvis wishing him &quot;Merry Christmas&quot;.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/life/11/12/21/nadine-lustre-launches-audio-nfts">Nadine Lustre launches audio NFTs</a></li></ul><p>NFTs are digital items that can be bought and sold using blockchain technology. They have become immensely popular for collectors, including artwork which sold for nearly $70 million at auction earlier this year. </p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/business/12/19/21/nfts-how-do-they-work">NFTs: Much hyped, but how do they work?</a></li></ul><p>Among those in the auction hall was 18-year-old blockchain entrepreneur Luigi Caradonna, who bowed out of bidding when the price rose above 75,000 euros.</p><p>&quot;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,&quot; he told AFP.</p><p>Mobile network operator Vodafone has said it plans to donate its proceeds from the sale to the UN&#x27;s refugee agency.</p><div><strong>FROM THE ARCHIVES</strong></div><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen" frameBorder="0" height="100%" id="ivsplayer01" scrolling="no" src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/html/iframe-src.html?iframeid=ivsplayer01&amp;key=e8c22c015ca9eafa76f1e3edfa03c603&amp;spid=3001339&amp;vid=1768611" width="100%"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more in <a href="//www.iwantv.com.ph/">iWantv</a> or <a href="//tfc.tv/">TFC.tv</a></div>

The first SMS was a 15-character message sent to Vodafone employee Richard Jarvis wishing him ‘Merry Christmas’.