vodafone: Merry Christmas: Vodafone auctioning world’s first SMS, expected to fetch more than $200,000 – Times of India

Vodafone has announced that it is auctioning the world’s first SMS. The company will auction the SMS as a Non-Fungible Token (NFT). The announcement was shared by Vodafone Group official Twitter handle. “It’s Vodafone’s first ever #NFT Alien monster @vodafone_de will be transforming the first SMS text into a Non-Fungible Token to be auctioned, with all proceeds to be donated to @refugees.” the Tweet read.
World’s first SMS
The world’s first SMS was sent almost three decades ago on December 3, 1992 through the Vodafone network. The SMS was received by Vodafone employee Richard Jarvis. “Merry Christmas,” the 15 character message read.
How to buy the NFT of world’s first SMS
The auction for the NFT of world’s first SMS will be conducted in Paris on 21 December 2021 by Aguttes, the first independent auction house in France. Bidders can also participate online. The exclusive NFT was minted in an edition of 1 and Vodafone assures not to mint another NFT from the world’s first SMS in the future.
The buyer of the NFT will get a certificate guaranteeing the authenticity and uniqueness of the NFT signed by Vodafone Group CEO Nick Read. Apart from this, a detailed replica of the original communication protocol created by Vodafone, which documents the sending/receiving of the world’s first SMS along with the replica of the original communication protocol as TXT files (coded/uncoded versions) and as PDF files (coded/uncoded versions) will also be provided to the buyer by the company. As per various reports, the collectible is expected to fetch more than $200,000.
Vodafone has announced that it will donate all proceeds from the auction to UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, to support the 82.4 million people who have been forced to flee their homes due to conflict and persecution.