Owner of Jack Dorsey's first tweet NFT fails to sell after setting $70 million fee

The first tweet as an NFT
Many took to social media taking joy in the massive drop in value of the token. Photo credit: Getty Images / Newshub

The non-fungible token (NFT) of Twitter founder Jack Dorsey's first tweet has declined spectacularly in value since being bought last year.

Iranian-born entrepreneur Sina Estavi bought the NFT for NZ$4.27 million in March 2021.

Last week he announced he was going to sell it and donate 50 percent of the proceeds to charity, providing it sold for more than NZ$36.8 million.

He then listed it on OpenSea, a popular NFT marketplace, for NZ$70.6 million, with bids closing on Wednesday (local time).

According to website Coindesk, when the deadline passed only seven offers had been made ranging from a high of 0.09 ether (NZ$411) to just 0.0019 ether (NZ$8.69).

In a message to Coindesk, Estavi said: "The deadline I set was over, but if I get a good offer, I might accept it, I might never sell it."

Since then someone has bid 0.69 ether (NZ$3156) for the NFT, which says 'just setting up my twttr' - NZ$70,596,844 short of the asking price. 

Perhaps unsurprisingly, many of the reactions on social media are taking pleasure in Estavi's inability to sell the NFT.

Lots pointed out the 0.09 ether bid still overvalued the NFT, essentially just an image of Dorsey's first tweet that anyone is able to create if they so wanted.

"LMAO. Mf lost $2.9m on a screenshot," one wrote, alongside a GIF of someone laughing hard.

"Good, it's not worth $2. The truth will come out, always does," wrote another.

Others were slightly more cynical about the whole NFT marketplace.

"They didn’t get the memo. You sell it back and forth to yourself to fake demand. Then a sucker comes along and buys it. NFT 101," tweeted one.

Estavi already has two failed cryptocurrency ventures to his name, and spent nine months in prison following his arrest in May 2021 for "disrupting the economic system" of Iran.

He told Coindesk he was trying to make things right with those who had bought his failed BRG token, offering holders the chance to swap for a new version.

However, to do that, investors need to send him their phone numbers and other tokens in order to verify they owned the initial BRG.

He'll then send them their new tokens "within a month or two", a process which has got many investors doubtings Estavi's authenticity again.