The first text message ever sent in the world, that read "Merry Christmas" recently sold as an NFT (non-fungible token) for €107,000, approximately Rs 91 lakh at an auction in Paris.
The message was sent by Vodafone engineer Neil Papworth to a manager on 3 December, 1992. "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.
France has not yet legalised selling intangible goods, which is why the auction house had to package the text message in a digital frame, and display the code and communication protocol that way.
The proceeds of this NFT will go to the United Nations Refuge Agency UNHCR.
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