<p>The first text message ever sent, reading "Merry Christmas," was sold on Tuesday for 107,000 euros ($121,000) as a 'Non-Fungible Token' at a Paris auction house.</p>.<p>The text, which was sent on Dec. 3, 1992, was put up for auction by the British telecoms company Vodafone.</p>.<p>Vodafone engineer Neil Papworth sent the SMS from his computer to a manager in the United Kingdom, who received it on his 2-kg (4 lb) "Orbitel" telephone – similar to a desk phone but cordless and with a handle.</p>.<p>"They were in the middle of end-of-year events so he sent him the message 'Merry Christmas'," said Maximilien Aguttes, head of development for the Aguttes Auction House.</p>.<p>Non-Fungible Tokens, or NFTs, are a type of digital asset that has surged in popularity this year, with NFT artworks selling for millions of dollars.</p>.<p>Traded since around 2017, these digital objects, which encompass images, video, music and text, exist on blockchain, a record of transactions kept on networked computers. Each NFT has a unique digital signature.</p>.<p>The selling of intangible goods is not legal in France and so the auction house has packaged the text message in a digital frame, displaying the code and communication protocol, Aguttes said.</p>.<p>The buyer will receive the replica of the original communication protocol that transmitted the SMS and proceeds will go to the United Nations Refugee Agency UNHCR.</p>.<p><strong>Check out latest DH videos here</strong></p>
<p>The first text message ever sent, reading "Merry Christmas," was sold on Tuesday for 107,000 euros ($121,000) as a 'Non-Fungible Token' at a Paris auction house.</p>.<p>The text, which was sent on Dec. 3, 1992, was put up for auction by the British telecoms company Vodafone.</p>.<p>Vodafone engineer Neil Papworth sent the SMS from his computer to a manager in the United Kingdom, who received it on his 2-kg (4 lb) "Orbitel" telephone – similar to a desk phone but cordless and with a handle.</p>.<p>"They were in the middle of end-of-year events so he sent him the message 'Merry Christmas'," said Maximilien Aguttes, head of development for the Aguttes Auction House.</p>.<p>Non-Fungible Tokens, or NFTs, are a type of digital asset that has surged in popularity this year, with NFT artworks selling for millions of dollars.</p>.<p>Traded since around 2017, these digital objects, which encompass images, video, music and text, exist on blockchain, a record of transactions kept on networked computers. Each NFT has a unique digital signature.</p>.<p>The selling of intangible goods is not legal in France and so the auction house has packaged the text message in a digital frame, displaying the code and communication protocol, Aguttes said.</p>.<p>The buyer will receive the replica of the original communication protocol that transmitted the SMS and proceeds will go to the United Nations Refugee Agency UNHCR.</p>.<p><strong>Check out latest DH videos here</strong></p>