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- In yet another historic move, Vodafone auctioned the world’s first-ever SMS containing 15-characters “Merry Christmas” sent to an employee, Richard Jarvis, on Dec 2, 1992, as NFT.
- Vodafone would be donating the earnings to the UN Refugee Agency, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, to help 82.4 million displaced people.
- The extraordinary sale would take place in the first independent house of France, Aguttes Auction House. The highest bidder will receive the exclusive ownership and a copy of the original protocol of the transition.
Vodafone, a British telecommunication company, is auctioning the world’s first SMS (Short Message Service) as an NFT (Non- Fungible Token) on Dec.21. The SMS that is being auctioned was sent over the Vodafone network, 29 years ago in Dec 1992 and read “Merry Christmas”. The SMS was received by Richard Jarvis, then an employee, at a Christmas Party.
As reported by Ziarul Financiar, a Romanian news outlet, the SMS would be auctioned in a one-off sale at the first independent auction house in France, Aguttes Auction House. For the unique sale, the organizers at Aguttes Auction House expect to meet with bidders from around the globe.
The sale would be conducted online, and buyers can bid for the historic SMS using Ethereum or ETH. The correspondent buying the world’s first SMS would gain ownership of the unique and detailed clone of the original protocol behind transmitting the world’s first SMS.
Vodafone would redirect the earnings made by auctioning the historic SMS in the form of NFT to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (the UN Refugee Agency) for helping the forcibly displaced refugees.
“We’re proud to be bringing together a major technology innovation from our past with cutting edge technology of today to help people in desperate need of support..” said CEO Vodafone UK, Ahmed Essam. “This initiative embodies our ‘Together We Can’ spirit.”
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Head of UNHCR’s Private Sector Partnerships Service, Christian Schaake said, “Technology has always had the power to innovate and change the world. Through this combination of groundbreaking tech and movement for social good, UNHCR can continue helping refugees and people who’ve been forced from home, giving them an opportunity to transform their lives and build better futures for themselves, their loved ones, and the communities they’re living in.”
Vodafone is known for creating history, be it sending the world’s first SMS, which took other networks nine years to be able to transmit SMS, or the recent act of minting the world’s first SMS. The step also crystallizes the fact that NFTs can be digitally preserved and their ability to tokenize.
The NFTs have proved to be a driving force in accelerating the mainstream adoption of NFTs as companies find more and more use cases in existing business models. Recently, Adidas also declared the launch of its NFT collection called “Into the Metaverse”.
On Dec 17, Adidas reportedly would be hosting the Originals NFT sale on its official website at 0.2 ETH, worth approximately $783.16
Prior to the Adidas announcement, showing its firm desire in the metaverse, Nike also bought a collectibles brand RTFKT and virtual sneakers.
Steve Anderson is an Australian crypto enthusiast. He is a specialist in management and trading for over 5 years. Steve has worked as a crypto trader, he loves learning about decentralisation, understanding the true potential of the blockchain.
