Someone has just bought the world’s first tweet for nearly US$3 million and that person owns a company registered right here in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Widely known as Sina Estavi on the internet, the boss of the Malaysia-registered company Bridge Oracle is the latest to splurge on a non-fungible token, which has been taking the digital world by storm this month.
For those unfamiliar with the tokens, also known as NFTs, they refer to unique digital assets that have been verified for their authenticity and ownership and can be applied to nearly anything you can find online, whether it’s an image, a GIF, a short movie, or even Jack Dorsey’s tweet that said “just setting up my twttr.”
That exact tweet, which was published 15 years ago in 2006, was put up on sale as an NFT early this month. Yesterday, Sina Estavi bought it through tweet-selling platform Valuables in Ether cryptocurrency. He paid 1630.5825601 ETH for the tweet, which was worth US$2,915,835.47 at the time of sale. Dorsey has since donated the proceeds to Africa.
The boss of the Malaysian firm did not respond to Coconuts’ request for comment today, but here’s what we’ve found on him so far:
He likened Dorsey’s tweet to the Mona Lisa
The Bridge Oracle owner took to Twitter yesterday to brag about his NFT splurge, comparing the world’s first tweet to the iconic artwork by Italian artist Leonardo da Vinci.
“This is not just a tweet! I think years later people will realize the true value of this tweet, like the Mona Lisa painting,” he said yesterday. Dorsey also publicly thanked him on the platform for the tweet purchase.
“Sent to @GiveDirectly Africa fund. Thank you, @sinaEstavi,” Twitter’s CEO said.
Sent to @GiveDirectly Africa fund 🌍Thank you, @sinaEstavi. pic.twitter.com/aEZu07auLV
— jack (@jack) March 22, 2021
This is not just a tweet!
I think years later people will realize the true value of this tweet, like the Mona Lisa painting https://t.co/vnA5pz3esQ
— Sina Estavi (@SinaEstavi) March 22, 2021
The Mona Lisa, which was painted in the 1500s, is being exhibited at the Louvre Museum in France and is worth nearly US$3 billion.
Sina or Hakan Estavi
The Chief Executive Officer is named Hakan Estavi on Bridge Oracle’s website, which lists six individuals and two “advisors” as part of its team. It described Estavi as “one of the early investors of crypto space since 2016.”
Estavi has also been leading the company since November 2019, his LinkedIn account states. The firm is registered at an address in Kuala Lumpur, at the Puncak Prima Condominium in Sri Hartamas.
Bridge Oracle is said to be a public oracle system that connects blockchain to external data and runs on the Tron network.
According to his Instagram account, Estavi also owns Iranian crypto exchange operator Cryptoland, which is also linked to the same Malaysia address, according to its LinkedIn page.
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