Applications and Use Cases

Jack Dorsey NFT Tweet Auction Points to Growth for Blockchain and Crypto Collectibles


March 09, 2021

Jack Dorsey is offering up the first tweet in history for auction as a non-fungible token (NFT). The bidding is currently up to $2.5 million (as of publication time) and the auction will continue until March 21.

Proceeds from the auction will be donated to the nonprofit group Give Directly, to be allocated to the organization's Africa Response fund for COVID-19 relief. The tweet, dated March 21, 2006, reads "just setting up my twttr" and is from Dorsey's personal account.

Dorsey, along with Elon Musk, has been advocating for bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, highlighting the growing popularity of digital payments. Beyond that, so-called "crypto collectibles" have been gaining in popularity, with a digital version of the Nyan Cat meme, dating back to 2011, selling for close to $600,000 last month.

Dorsey is framing his tweet as "digital art" with a unique NFT that will act as a collector's item, which can't be duplicated. Ownership is recorded on a blockchain, making it impossible for a person to exchange one NFT for another. The highest bidder for Dorsey's tweet, as of publication time, is Bridge Oracle CEO Sina Estavi.

Last week, The Kings of Leon announced they will become the first band to release an album as a NFT. The album, "When You See Yourself," will include a series of three types of tokens known as "NFT Yourself." The first type will include a special album package, while a second type will offer perks for the bands' shows, like front-row seats for life. A third type of NFT will include exclusive audiovisual art.

In addition to arts and entertainment, NFTs are becoming popular for virtual real estate, sports and gaming.

“It’s allowing content creators to actually own the property rights for what they create, which allows them to profit from it in different ways which they can’t do with physical art,” Nadya Ivanova, COO of research firm L'Atelier, told CNBC. She said crypto art is the strongest growing subsection of the digital collectibles market.

A study conducted by L'Atelier and NonFungible showed the total value of NFT transactions quadrupled last year, reaching $250 million. The number of digital wallets doubled, with some traders making profits of more than $100,000.

“We’re seeing a new generation of traders within the NFT market; people who are digitally native looking for digital native asset classes outside of established asset markets,” said Ivanova. “These are people who have amassed reputation and wealth and want to invest it in purely virtual assets like NFTs.”




Edited by Maurice Nagle

Share this Page
HOME


FEATURED RESOURCE


Social media is impacting the value of your cryptocurrency. This cross-platform audit will show how to improve consumer and influencer sentiment.

CONTACT US