New Delhi: The auction for the very first tweet by Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey has fetched $2.4 million (a little over Rs 18 crore). Dorsey declared that the entire auction proceeds would be donated to charity of his choice, preferably in bitcoins. The bid for a 15-year-old tweet put up for auction as an NFT (non-fungible token) on a platform called Valuables has reportedly been won by Sina Estavi, CEO of tech company Bridge Oracle.

The tweet which was written in March 2006, reads, ”just setting up my twttr”.

Check out the tweet here:

In a previous tweet, Dorsey had promised that the $2.4 million proceeds will be converted to Bitcoin and then donated to GiveDirectly’s initiative to provide COVID-19 relief to Africa. He had written, “Ending this March 21st. Will immediately convert proceeds to #Bitcoin. And send to @GiveDirectly Africa Response”.

What are NFTs?

NFTs (non-fungible token) are digital files that serve as digital signatures to certify who owns photos, videos and other online media. NFTs allow people to buy and sell ownership of unique digital items and keep track of who owns them using the blockchain. Basically, the NFT refers to a unit of currency on the Blockchain, the way cryptocurrency like Bitcoin is bought and sold.

According to Valuables, “What you are purchasing is a digital certificate of the tweet, unique because it has been signed and verified by the creator”.

Non-fungible mean you can’t exchange it for another thing of equal value. Artist Grimes recently sold several NFT items for nearly $6 million. An NFT of LeBron James making a historic dunk for the Lakers garnered more than $200,000. On March 11, an NFT of a work by digital artist Mike Winkelmann sold for $69 million at Christie’s, making him “among the top three most valuable living artists”.

Non-fungible mean you can’t exchange it for another thing of equal value