Jack Dorsey sells his first tweet for $ 2.9 million

Twitter co-founder and CEO Jack Dorsey on Monday sold an authenticated version of his first tweet for $ 2.9 million, a further illustration of the madness of “

NFT

”, virtual items that collectors are snapping up.

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This image of the message “

I create my Twttr account

” (“

just setting up my twttr

”), on sale on the Valuables platform since March 5, was acquired by entrepreneur Sina Estavi, based in Malaysia.

The sale was made possible by the emergence of a new digital format, the “

NFT

”, for non-fungible token or non-fungible token.

It allows you to associate with any virtual object, whether it is an image, photo, animation, video, or piece of music, a certificate of authenticity.

This certificate is theoretically inviolable and cannot be duplicated.

It is designed using so-called “

blockchain

” technology, which serves as the basis for cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin.

Jack Dorsey also sold his tweet in ethereum (or ether), a cryptocurrency, and not in dollars.

Only the author of the tweet can sell it in “

NFT

” form after verification, according to Valuables, which was created in December 2020 and has no capital link with Twitter.

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After the sale, the tweet itself remains visible to everyone, as long as Jack Dorsey or Twitter leaves it online.

Valuables keeps 5% of the proceeds from the sale, the rest going to the seller, a platform spokesperson told AFP.

Like many players in the emerging “

NFT

” market, Sina Estavi has been present in the world of “

blockchain

” and cryptocurrencies for several years.

He is now Managing Director of the Bridge Oracle blockchain platform, located in Malaysia.

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The entrepreneur clearly intends to expand his collection as he offered $ 1.1 million for a tweet from automaker Tesla boss Elon Musk.

Since then, the latter has nevertheless indicated that he would withdraw his tweet from the sale, even if it was still offered online on Monday on the Valuables platform.

On March 11, a digital work by American artist Beeple, titled "

Everydays: The First 5000 Days

", sold for $ 69.3 million at Christie's.

Indian entrepreneur Vignesh Sundaresan, also heavily involved in

blockchain

and cryptocurrency, has since revealed to be the buyer.