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Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey turned the first tweet into an NFT and sold it for $2.9M

One of the most expensive NFTs today is Jack Dorsey's very first tweet, which was bought in an auction.
Donovan Erskine
Donovan Erskine
13

Non-fungible tokens - better known as NFTs, have seen quite the rise in popularity. These digital assets have allowed people to purchase videos and images, verified by the blockchain. A lot of fascinating content has been sold off as an NFT, including a video of NBA superstar LeBron James dunking a basketball. One of the more interesting NFTs was the first ever tweet, which Twitter CEO posted for auction. The auction has closed, and the CEO’s first tweet has sold for $2.9 million.

Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey announced back on March 5 that he would be making the first ever tweet into an NFT and auctioning it off, with the proceeds going to the GiveDirectly charity. The auction officially closed on March 21, and was sold for a whopping $21 million. He then went on to show a screenshot of the Bitcoin withdrawal that he’s using to donate.

The bid was won by Bridge Oracle Sina Estavi, though entrepreneur Justin Sun had also been auctioning for the NFT. Originally posted on March 21, 2006, Jack Dorsey’s “just setting up my twttr” post is the first ever tweet shared to the social media platform. With the massive ongoing popularity and significance of Twitter, the tweet that started it all holds a special significance.

Jack Dorsey’s original tweet is one of the most expensive NFTs sold to date. If you’re a bit confused on how all of this works, we put together a guide on exactly what a non-fungible token is. For more on NFTs, stick with us right here on Shacknews.

News Editor
News Editor

Donovan is a journalist from Maryland. His oldest gaming memory is playing Pajama Sam on his mom's desktop during weekends. Pokémon Emerald, Halo 2, and the original Star Wars Battlefront 2 were some of the most influential titles in awakening his love for video games. After interning for Shacknews throughout college, Donovan graduated from Bowie State University in 2020 with a major in broadcast journalism and joined the team full-time. He is a huge film fanatic and will talk with you about movies and games all day. You can follow him on twitter @Donimals_

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  • Shacknews legacy 10 years legacy 20 years
    reply
    March 22, 2021 2:25 PM

    Donovan Erskine posted a new article, Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey turned the first tweet into an NFT and sold it for $2.9M

    • GloriousCow
      reply
      March 22, 2021 2:26 PM

      this is the dumbest thing

      you thought you knew what the dumbest thing was, but you didn't

      unless you were thinking of this

      then you were correct

      but you probably weren't

      • Downforce legacy 10 years legacy 20 years
        reply
        March 22, 2021 2:27 PM

        that's... exactly right

      • GBurke59 legacy 10 years mercury mega
        reply
        March 22, 2021 2:29 PM

        Rich people logic.

        • GloriousCow
          reply
          March 22, 2021 2:32 PM

          i guess it went to charity so it's not awful but i really don't get the nft thing at all

          i thought i was hip with the technology

          i even said gnu/linux once unironically

          i don't get the nft thing at all. i don't understand how you own a tweet

          • dognose moderator legacy 10 years legacy 20 years
            reply
            March 22, 2021 2:33 PM

            We have currency based on a Internet meme of a dog

          • GBurke59 legacy 10 years mercury mega
            reply
            March 22, 2021 4:07 PM

            Not to go far down this rabbit hole but what does it say when a single person can Piss away 6 million dollars? I hate that money is relative.

          • Portax legacy 10 years legacy 20 years
            reply
            March 22, 2021 4:15 PM

            You don’t even own the tweet (unless some special rights are conferred with the nft sale, but I can’t imagine there being many rights for a tweet).

            If it’s just for an nft, you basically own a certificate saying you “own” the tweet, but you really don’t. It’s kind of like buying a star, except paying millions for it.

          • redshak legacy 10 years mercury mega
            reply
            March 22, 2021 4:24 PM

            It's going to the museum and buying a star to say yep that's mine. This is literally what an NFT is

          • OverloadUT legacy 10 years
            reply
            March 22, 2021 4:31 PM

            You don't own the tweet. You own something symbolic that the creator of the tweet said is symbolic and a system exists to validate. Thinking of it as a signed print is probably the easiest shortcut: In this example, Jack "signed" (digitally) the tweet and sold the SIGNED tweet for 2.9M. This doesn't mean someone owns the actual tweet. It means they own a piece of paper that has value because enough people agreed that it has value.

            • GloriousCow
              reply
              March 22, 2021 4:33 PM

              i am selling an NFT representing my deleted post history. bids commence below

              • OverloadUT legacy 10 years
                reply
                March 22, 2021 4:36 PM

                You can do exactly that. But you have to pay to "mint" the NFT and then convince someone to buy it. If you don't, all you've done is toss money in to the system to benefit people that know what they're doing lol

            • Chod legacy 10 years legacy 20 years
              reply
              March 22, 2021 4:36 PM

              What’s even more funny is you could take a photograph of the tweet with you phone and own that photo.

              • OverloadUT legacy 10 years
                reply
                March 22, 2021 4:38 PM

                You can do that in other markets to, but it's unlikely anyone would buy it because they would not see it as having any value. The same is true of NFTs

              • sneakyalmond legacy 10 years
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                March 22, 2021 4:50 PM

                You could photograph a signed baseball.. but it would be worthless.

              • spazzium legacy 10 years mercury super mega
                reply
                March 22, 2021 5:01 PM

                There’s already a bot out there that will generate an NFT for a parent tweet if you just @ the bot in the reply.

                • spazzium legacy 10 years mercury super mega
                  reply
                  March 22, 2021 5:03 PM

                  Also, we’re already entering into the future of blockchain that I feared. People still don’t know what it is, but are willing to pay money for it because they’ve been told it has value.

            • aethyr legacy 10 years legacy 20 years
              reply
              March 22, 2021 7:14 PM

              So basically you only "own" the owners endorsement that this is a thing they "minted"?

              This seems like a scam or a way to do something illegal.

          • Unleashed legacy 10 years legacy 20 years
            reply
            March 22, 2021 4:54 PM

            just a vehicle for the rich to get richer https://fstoppers.com/opinion/nfts-are-pyramid-scheme-and-people-are-already-losing-money-554869

          • reelbk
            reply
            March 22, 2021 7:19 PM

            I feel like the entire bottom will fall out of the market for things like this and it'll still hold value, but nowhere near what it can command now with everyone bored out of their minds with nothing to spend money on.

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