It had been bought for $2.9 million in 2021. The NFT of the very first tweet was relisted in April 2022, with little success. A few months after the start of the auction, the highest bid posted a derisory price.
Remember the story of Jack Dorsey’s tweet, the creator of Twitter, which the entrepreneur put up for sale as an NFT in March 2021? If so, you probably remember the fact that it was sold for $2.9 million to Sina Estavi, a cryptocurrency entrepreneur.
In April 2022, barely a year after its purchase, the latter relisted the tweet, this time for $48 million (but still promising that half of the proceeds would be donated to charity). Only, here it is: the sale had not really worked out and the highest offer that Sina Estavi had received amounted to 3,000 dollars.
Did the contractor refuse the offers? Have they expired? Numerama went for a walk again on the side ofthe Open Sea page of the tweet, this June 20, 2022. And the result is even more depressing than before: the currently highest offer is 0.02 ETH, or… $22.58.
An important story for NFTs
The fate of this tweet might seem anecdotal, but it has its significance in the history of NFTs. Its sale had generated great curiosity for the non fungible tokens. It was also on this occasion that Numerama wrote its very first article on the subject. The title, ” what are NFTs, and why buy a $2.5 million tweet? was unequivocal.
Since then, Numerama’s editorial staff has written dozens of articles on NFTs, which have become real social phenomena. Pieces from certain collections, such as those of the Bored Apes Yacht Club or Cryptopunks, fetch hundreds of thousands of dollars and a work by the artist Beeple was even sold for 69 million dollars. Entire exhibitions dedicated to NFTs have been organized, and almost every day new projects concerning them are being set up.
But clearly, for Sina Estavi, the situation is not so good at all. The entrepreneur, who said at the time of the sale that he considered the tweet to be “ a piece of human history, in digital form », is now guaranteed to lose all of his bet. He had compared the tweet to a digital Mona Lisa and explained that he was sure of his investment. ” Who knows how much this tweet will be worth in 50 years? “, he wondered in front of the BBC.
Today, the irony of the situation is palpable, and it makes you smile — the NFT that Numerama made in 2021 actually sold for more than what is offered today for Jack Dorsey’s tweet : it was gone for 0.021 ETH, or 23.74 dollars.
Could the tide be turning for NFTs? Even though it is still early to bury them, some very audible voices are beginning to rise. The latest to speak is far from unknown: Bill Gates said on June 16 that NFTs were, in his view, a ” asset class that exists on the principle of the biggest fool theory “, which means ” someone will pay more money [pour cet actif] that I spent to acquire it. ” I have nothing to do with it “, he had concluded.