Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey to sell the first-ever published tweet on a website that sells tweets as non-fungible tokens (NFTs), a kind of digital collector's item.

Dorsey's 15-year-old tweet is one of the most famous tweets ever on the microblogging platform. The tweet, which was originally sent out via Twitter on March 21, 2006, at 3:50 PM local time, reads, "just setting up my twttr."

Old offers for the tweet suggest that it was put for sale in December, but the listing gained more attention after Dorsey tweeted a link to the listing on ‘Valuables by Cent’ – a tweets marketplace. The post received offers as high as $88,888.88 within minutes of the Twitter CEO tweeting the link and has been listed as a unique digital signature on the website. Bidding is currently at $2.5million, indicating the potential in selling virtual objects that have been authenticated through blockchain technology.

Non-fungible tokens, or NFTs, have picked up steam in recent months as a popular technology to sell digital art and other musings such as drawings or music. They are digital signatures used to certify who owns online media.

NFTs, or non-fungible tokens, are a type of cryptocurrency which allows artists to create verifiably-unique originals of their work while protecting intellectual property. They use the blockchain, which is the same technology that supports Bitcoin along with other cryptocurrencies, which lets creators make unique certificates of authenticity and ownership for any type of digital product or work. It has a powerful database technology that will time stamp and verify original ownership for a file, even after it’s been shared. 

Creators will have the ability to monetize directly with fans in a way that’s never been possible before now. Non-fungible means you can't exchange it for another thing of equal value. Multiple platforms help with the sale of NFTs, like the recently launched "Valuables by Cent", which is described as a marketplace for tweets. The organization allows creators to sell tweets, which are autographed by creators. The company compares the buying of tweets with buying an autographed baseball card. "There is only one unique signed version of the tweet, and if the creator agrees to sell, you can own it forever."

In Dorsey's case, the tweet itself remains visible to all, so long as he and Twitter leave it online.

The buyer will get a certificate that has been digitally signed and verified by Dorsey. So it's kind of like purchasing an autograph. Jack Dorsey's tweet isn't the first in this trend. Recently, a highlight of LeBron James making a historic dunk for the Lakers garnered about $200,000.

The sale of Dorsey’s first tweet follows an announcement last month that Twitter will allow users to charge for access to exclusive content.  At a virtual event for investors on the 25th of February, the company announced that it’s planning to debut a pay-for-posts feature, called Super Follows, in which users will be able to pay the people they follow for their best tweets.

The feature will allow people to lock certain perks behind a paywall, meaning that only paying followers, Super Followers, can access them. This can be bonus tweets, access to a community group, subscription to a newsletter, or a badge indicating your support.

There’s no timeline yet for when this feature will launch.