Riding the NFT-wave sweeping the world of technology is Twitter CEO and co-founder Jack Dorsey, who is attempting to sell his first-ever tweet on the platform as a non-fungible token.
The tweet, which was posted what feels like eons ago in 2006, marked the start of Twitter, and the idea of owning a piece of internet history is attracting a huge amount of interest.
Own a Piece of Internet History
Jack Dorsey's first tweet was simple, containing just 24 characters:
Despite the simplicity of the message, it marked the opening page of a social media platform that now has over 300 million users and is frequently at the center of breaking news stories, political discourse, and more.
At the time of publication, the bidding for Dorsey's NFT stood at an astonishing $600,000, with plenty more time on the auction to run. The auction is running on Valuables, a platform that allows tweet owners to tokenize and sell their original tweet.
In this case, the winning bidder receives a digital certification proscribing them as the official owner of Jack Dorsey's first-ever tweet. Still, it is important to note that the tweet won't disappear from Twitter.
There is enough interest in Dorsey's unique NFT that the final sale price could easily pass the $1 million mark, handing Dorsey a nice wad of cash for his "effort."
Dorsey Cashing In on NFT Craze
Non-Fungible Tokens (NFT) are a type of cryptocurrency token published on the Ethereum blockchain. However, where cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum are fungible (can be broken down into smaller pieces) and are used as currency, an NFT is a tokenized representation of a single asset.
In this case, the NFT will forever mark that someone owns the digital certificate showing ownership of Jack Dorsey's first-ever tweet.
The response to Dorsey's NFT auction has been mixed.
Critics of Dorsey's NFT sale claim that handing Dorsey a pile of money for what is ostensibly just a digital file is ridiculous. Dorsey doesn't need the money and isn't creating anything of value. While some NFTs tokenize artwork or unique images, Dorsey's tweet will remain on show on Twitter.
Conversely, NFT advocates see the NFT rush as the start of something big, in a future where artists and creators will hold much greater ownership over their creations, which can only be a good thing.
Buying NFTs now is like "getting in on the ground floor" before it really takes off. Many early adopters hope for a Bitcoin-like rise in prices due to digital scarcity, and indeed, some sales prices for certain NFTs have been massive.
How much Dorsey's first tweet NFT will eventually sell for is anyone's guess. Many people in the cryptocurrency sphere have made astronomical gains in the past six months and have the cash to spare.
Furthermore, although NFTs are still a very new technology, the lure of owning what is effectively a unique piece of internet history could see bids arrive from outside the crypto-sphere.