A cryptocurrency entrepreneur who bought the non-fungible token (NFT) of Jack Dorsey’s first-ever tweet was hoping to sell it for $48 million, but things didn’t pan out. The NFT, which he bought for $2.9 million last year, was recently put up for auction—the highest bid? An embarrassing $280.
Sina Estavi, the founder of two Malaysia-based cryptocurrency companies, put on the auction. He purchased the NFT from Dorsey last March. Dorsey sold his first tweet to raise money for COVID-19 relief efforts in Africa.
Mr. Dorsey's first-ever tweet was on May 21, 2006. It read: "just setting up my twittr.”
At the time, Estavi believed he got a good deal on the NFT. He predicted its value would skyrocket. "Years later, people will realize the value of this NFT," he claimed. "Keep that in mind."
Estavi announced his intention to sell the NFT last week, saying he would give 50% of the proceeds to charity. At the time, he estimated that would be $25 million or more.
"I think the value of this NFT is far greater than you can imagine and whoever wants to buy it must be worthy," Estavi said, and when quizzed on who a potential buyer might be, he said: "I think someone like Elon Musk could deserve this NFT".
Now it looks like the charity might receive a mere $180. The auction closed on Wednesday, and in the end, received only seven bids. The top bidder offered $280, which still stood when the clock ran out on the auction. Mr. Estavi decline to accept the bid.
However, Estavi announced that he planned on reopening the auction, hoping for a higher bid. He told Coindesk: "The deadline I set was over, but if I get a good offer, I might accept it, I might never sell it."
NFTs have become a hot commodity among the wealthy, with A-listers like Logan Paul building a $30 million portfolio of the “one of a kind” assets. Eminem has also picked up a few, most recently he dropped $452,000 for a prized Bored Ape Yacht Club piece.
The most expensive single transaction was for CryptoPunk NFT—which sold for $532 million in November 2021. However, interest in the digital asset has dwindled in recent months, and searches for the term “NFT” have more than halved since January, according to Evening Standard.
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