Meme-Makers Are Finally Cashing in On Internet Fame With NFTs

Before, going viral offered didn’t much more than internet fame. Now, it’s providing the humans behind the memes with hefty paydays, thanks to NFTs.

The recent upswing in NFTs has given memes a new monetization avenue to the tune of 100+ ETH sales. Most of these memes are selling on Foundation – the new kid on the block offering a sleek UX and open creator invite system.

Internet sensation Nyan Cat kicked off the trend when it sold for 300 ETH, the highest sale on Foundation at the time. Now, other viral images have started to see strong primary market activity as well.

“Overly Attached Girlfriend” from Laina followed with a 200 ETH sale, earmarked by a seal of approval from the woman depicted in the meme itself.

Disaster Girl recently sold for 180 ETH, giving pictured Zoe Roth a multi-hundred thousand dollar payday on the back of an image that has previously offered no financial upside.

Alison Harvard sold her two images “Creepy Chan” for 35 and 40 ETH respectively, with most of the activity taking place through a bidding war at the very end of the auction.

Smaller memes like Ridiculously Photogenic Guy and Thumbs Up School Photo Guy are also seeing multiple ETH bids, showing that the trend is far from a one-off event.

Perhaps the most interesting parallel between the larger events is the continued participation from collector 3FMusic – any increasingly notorious NFT bidder leaving their namesake on cultural history.

Groups like pleasrDAO are now banding together to collect these historic moments, like Edward Snowden’s first NFT – sold for over $5M last week. This points toward a coming wave of Creator DAOs for friends to pool capital and collect the NFT markets most prized possessions.

History is being made on @withFND right now ?@pleasrdao vs @xaix2k ?

$5M+ and counting on the first @Snowden NFT!!https://t.co/tilWhUDFXV

— Coopahtroopa ?ᴗ? (@Cooopahtroopa) April 16, 2021

This renewed interest in collecting cultural significance points to a future where social and financial capital are closely intertwined.Until then, going viral can make creators enough money to buy a house.