The world's first SMS has been sold as an NFT for $149,729 (€132,680) at auction in Paris, according to the auctioneer Aguttes.
Reading "Merry Christmas," the message was sent by British programmer Neil Papworth from his computer on December 3 1992 to Richard Jarvis, then director of UK telecommunications company Vodafone.
Jarvis received the message on his Orbitel 901.
The NFT is a replica of the original communication protocol that transmitted the SMS, the auction house said. The unknown buyer, who was to pay in the cryptocurrency Ether, will also receive a digital frame with a 3D animation of the message being received.
Papworth and his colleagues were trying to develop a type of communication where regular Vodafone users could send text messages to each other's devices. They eventually refined the code, and the transmission of texts via Vodafone's network became a reality> giving rise to a plethora of texters we use nowadays.
"In 1992, I had no idea just how popular texting would become, and that this would give rise to emojis and messaging apps used by millions," Papworth was quoted as saying by the auctioneer. "I only recently told my children that I sent that first text. Looking back with hindsight, it's clearer to see that the Christmas message I sent was a pivotal moment in mobile history," he added.
