Vodafone To Auction World’s First SMS ‘Merry Christmas’ As NFT in Paris, Pledges To Donate Proceedings for Charity

Telecom giant Vodafone is all set to auction the world’s first-ever text message written in 1992 as a Non-Fungible Token (NFT) in Paris. Vodafone is reportedly eyeing to fetch £150,000 to £200,000 in exchange for the 30-year-old SMS. The auction will take place online on December 21, 2021. Vodafone said that it will donate the proceeds from the auction to UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency.

Reportedly, Neil Papworth, a British software architect created SMS and sent a 15 character text message ‘ Merry Christmas’ to Richard Jarvis, Director of Vodafone via Vodafone network on December 3, 1992. Soon, in 1993, Nokia came up with a handset that was capable of sending and receiving texts messages. MG Motor India Becomes First Carmaker To Introduce NFT Collection.

Check Tweet:

Did you know the world’s #1stSMS was a simple “Merry Christmas”?

Sent 30 years ago via the #Vodafone network, it’s been transformed into a #NFT by @vodafone_de, so it can be auctioned to raise funds for our partners at #UNHCR, helping to build a better future for @refugees. pic.twitter.com/NDis7WEHxC

— Vodafone Foundation (@VodafoneFdn) December 14, 2021

The auction will be conducted by Aguttes and will be open to bidders around the world. The buyers will be getting a replica of the original communication protocol from the network and a visual representation featuring the handset that received the first-ever SMS. Vodafone has said that it will not produce any other NFTs based on the text message.

(The above story first appeared on Today News 24 on Dec 21, 2021 03:47 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website todaynews24.top).