Got some extra cash lying around and want to own a piece of digital history? Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey put his first-ever tweet up for auction last week, garnering a current highest bid of $2.5 million.
Getty Images via PC MagTop bidder Sina Estavi, head of blockchain service CryptoLand and software firm Bridge Oracle, may walk away with a one-of-one autographed version of Dorsey's post. In return, the billionaire tech entrepreneur, would effortlessly earn another $2,375,000.
Why pay to own a tweet? Good question. According to auction platform Valuables, "owning any digital content can be a financial investment, hold sentimental value, and create a relationship between collector and creator." Known as a non-fungible token, or NFT, the cryptographic record represents something unique and, unlike currency, is not mutually interchangeable. You can exchange a $10 bill for two $5 bills. You cannot exchange an NFT highlight of LeBron James' famous dunk over Nemanja Bjelica in 2019.
"Like an autograph on a baseball card, the NFT itself is the creator's autograph on the content, making it scarce, unique, and valuable," the Valuables FAQ says. Buyers are free to resell tweets on the site (for an 87.5% cut), or display them in an online gallery. "As with any collectible, you can choose to just keep it in a private collection."
The market for NFTs is growing rapidly, earning artists, musicians, video editors, and meme makers loads of cash: Chris Torres sold the piece "Nyan Cat" for $590,000; Grimes hawked $6 million worth of digital art as NFTs, and Kings of Leon will become the first band to release an album in the form of a non-fungible token. One startup already lets customers use NFTs as collateral for loans.
"NFTs make digital content one-of-a-kind. You are the only person who can claim ownership of an NFT you own," Valuables explains. "This means you have control of the NFT, like the ability to resell or distribute it, and it will appreciate or depreciate in value just like any other asset."
