Twitter CEO and co-founder Jack Dorsey gestures while interacting with students at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) in New Delhi on Nov. 12, 2018.
Prakash Singh | AFP | Getty Images
Jack Dorsey appears to be offering to sell the very first tweet as a non-replaceable token, or NFT.
The CEO of Twitter shared a link Friday afternoon to a platform called “Valuables”, where his tweet from March 21, 2006 “just set up my twttr” was ready to bid. The highest bid is from Sina Estavi, CEO of Bridge Oracle, for $ 2.5 million as of Saturday afternoon, the website said.
Ownership of these assets is recorded on a blockchain – a digital ledger similar to the networks that support bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. However, unlike most currencies, a person cannot exchange one NFT for another, such as with dollars or other assets. Each NFT is unique and acts as a collector’s item that cannot be duplicated, making them rare in design.
Crypto collectibles have become extremely popular in recent times, with everyone from artists to rock bands coming up with their content. A digital rendition of the 2011 Nyan Cat meme, for example, sold for nearly $ 600,000 at an online auction last month.
Some people who buy NFTs believe it can help them prove ownership of a virtual item thanks to blockchain.
Dorsey is also a proponent of digital currencies, featuring “#bitcoin” in its Twitter bio, so jumping into NFTs seems like a natural extension. His digital payments company Square also bought about 3,318 bitcoins in late February, an extension of his October 2020 purchase of 4,709.
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