LONDON: Twitter boss Jack Dorsey has sold his first tweet for just over $2.9 million.
The tweet is in the form of a non-fungible token (NFT) – a kind of unique digital asset that has exploded in popularity so far in 2021.
Each NFT has its own blockchain-based digital signature, which serves as a public ledger, allowing anyone to verify the asset’s authenticity and ownership.
The tweet – “just setting up my twttr” – was Dorsey’s first tweet on March 21, 2006. The NFT was sold via auction on a platform called Valuables, which is owned by the US-based company Cent.
It was bought using the cryptocurrency Ether, for 1630.5825601 ETH, which was worth $2,915,835.47 at the time of sale, Cameron Hejazi, the CEO and co-founder of Cent confirmed.
READ MORE: Twitter founder Dorsey auctions first ever tweet
Cent confirmed the buyer is Sina Estavi. Estavi’s Twitter profile says he is based in Malaysia and is CEO of the blockchain company Bridge Oracle. Estavi said he was “thankful” when asked for comment about the purchase.
On March 6, Dorsey, who is a bitcoin enthusiast, tweeted a link to the website where the NFT was listed for sale. He then said in another tweet that he would convert the proceeds from the auction into bitcoin and donate them to people impacted by COVID-19 in Africa.
Dorsey receives 95% of the proceeds of the primary sale, while Cent receives 5%. Cent CEO Cameron Hejazi said that his platform allows people to show support for a tweet that goes beyond the current options to like, comment and retweet.
