Meme NFTs that bring nostalgia to the blockchain

With the social media revolution, memes of all kinds have become an integral part of our lives. Indeed, within the NFT industry, NFT memes is an important mood lifter. If you’ve been around since the earliest days of the Internet, you’ll remember some of the classic memes from your childhood. From “Charlie Bit My Finger” to “Woman Yelling At A Cat” and more, these memes are now being sold as NFTs. While memes originally remained mere internet sensations thanks to NFTs, the OG creators can now profit by selling their meme NFTs.

In this guide, we’ll cover everything you need to know about meme NFTs – what are they? How much did top meme NFTs sell for? Can you sell a meme? And more! Let’s dive right in!

What is an NFT of a meme?

First, let’s take a step back and look what a non-fungible token, or NFT, is. In the simplest terms, you can think of NFTs as digital certificates that prove the authenticity and ownership of digital or physical objects. More specifically, these are non-fungible, traceable and immutable assets on the blockchain.

The key here is that NFTs can be attached to pretty much anything – from art, music and videos to physical items like liquor, merchandise, tickets and more. And yes – that includes memes too. Given the broader crypto community’s interest in memes, it was only natural for memes to become NFTs. After all, memes are digital images, videos, or GIFs that creators can easily create as NFTs by uploading to a marketplace.

Reportedly, Chris Torres, the creator of the famous Nyan Cat character, was the first to sell a meme as an NFT in February 2021. He auctioned his 8-bit animated, rainbow Pop-Tart cat for 300 ETH (around $600,000 at the time) ). A number of other creators soon followed, making meme NFTs one of the most sought-after categories in the industry.

Can I sell a meme?

If you are an original creator of the meme, you can certainly sell it for possible profit. In fact, many creators have sold their classic viral memes for hundreds of thousands of dollars – some even for millions! For example, ‘Charlie Bit My Finger‘, one of the most famous videos on the internet, fetched almost $800,000 in May 2021. On the other hand, ‘Doge’ meme NFT sold for $4 million in June.

It goes without saying – don’t try to sell NFTs of memes you don’t own. Apart from moral reasons, the copyright owner can sue you for copyright infringement.

How to make a meme NFT?

So you are the owner of a viral meme. Or you have an excellent idea for an original meme. How can you turn it into a meme NFT and sell it? Well, the process is the same as create any other NFT. In a nutshell, you will first need a crypto wallet with some crypto corresponding to your chosen blockchain.

Since most memes are simple images or videos, you don’t need coding skills to create your NFT. So go to a suitable NFT marketplace, create an account, connect your wallet and follow the instructions to create an NFT. Once created, you can sell it on the marketplace. But don’t forget to use the right NFT Marketing to sell your NFTs. Alternatively, you can visit NFT marketing companies for that extra push in the right direction.

What are the most famous meme NFTs?

Now that we’ve covered the basics, let’s take a look at some of the most famous classic NFT memes:

Nyan Cat: The first meme NFT

As previously mentioned, Nyan Cat is considered the first meme to be sold as an NFT. Last year, on February 19, Chris Torres auctioned the iconic cat video for 300 ETH. This was a turning point for both memes and NFTs, especially because non-fungible tokens were relatively unknown at the time. Beeple’s Historic NFT Art Sale happened just a month later.

Doge NFT fetched 4 million dollars!

What started as a simple photograph of a Shiba Inu named Kabosu in 2010 soon became the viral “Doge” meme sensation. Among a series of photos that Atsuko Sato, Kabosu’s owner, posted on her blog, this particular photo of an enthusiastic Kabosu went viral. Later in June 2021, Sato auctioned the image as an NFT for a record $4 million. In addition, she donated some of the proceeds to charities, the Japanese Red Cross Society and the World Food Programme.

Clingy girlfriend

In April, the famous “Overly Attached Girlfriend” meme sold for over $400,000, becoming one of the first YouTube memes to be minted as an NFT. Laina Morris had originally posted the video on YouTube for a contest by Justin Bieber. It soon found its way to Reddit, and went viral in no time. Morris even became a YouTuber before retiring in 2019.

How much did Success Kid NFT sell for?

Undoubtedly, the Success Kid – featuring a baby with a clenched fist and a smug expression – is one of the most recognizable memes in internet history. Clicked in 2007, the photo was Laney Griner’s attempt to photograph her 11-month-old son, Samuel. Later in April 2021, she sold an NFT of meme for just over $32,000.

Side Eyeing Chloe NFT

‘Page Eyeing Chloe’ NFT of a 2013 meme fetched about $75,000 last September. In fact, 3F Music, a Dubai-based music recording studio that has a number of meme NFTs, bought Side Eyeing Chloe. A defining part of early meme culture, the meme features two-year-old Chloe Chlem finding out about a surprise Disneyland trip and couldn’t care less. A screenshot of the video her mother shared online quickly became an internet sensation.

‘Disaster Girl’ meme NFT sold to pay off student loans

Well, who can forget the classic “Disaster Girl” meme? The iconic 2005 photo shows 4-year-old Zoe Roth, smiling mischievously as she watches a house burn in her neighborhood. It was shared online and went viral in 2008. In April 2021, the meme was auctioned off as an NFT for around half a million dollars. At the time, Roth told New York Times that the sale was “a way for her to take control of a situation over which she has felt powerless”. She added that she would use the proceeds to pay off student loans and support charities.

Grumpy cat

Tardar Sauce, who belongs to Tabatha Bundesen, is one of the most famous cats in the meme world. A photo of the adorable cat went viral after Bundesen posted it on Reddit in 2012, with the caption “Meet Grumpy Cat.” Notably, the cat even became the “talking cat” of Friskies and was even featured in a Christmas movie! In March 2021, Bundesen sold the ‘Grumpy Cat’ meme NFT for over $78,000.

Woman yelling at a Cat NFT auctioned for charity

Recently, the blockchain charity fund, Unchain, auctioned off the viral ‘Woman Yelling at a Cat’ meme NFT to support Ukraine. The meme features a screenshot of ‘The Real Housewives Of Beverly Hills’ Taylor Armstrong on one side and a confused cat sitting behind a plate full of salad on the other. However, NFT fetched only 15 ETH after being auctioned on November 18th.

The above is by no means an exhaustive list of the best NFT memes. Several others, including ‘Friendship Ended with MUDASIR’, ‘Why You Always Lying’ and ‘Leave Britney Alone’ also sold for thousands of dollars. Whether you plan to buy or sell a meme NFT, always remember to do your own market research. NFTs are volatile assets whose value keeps fluctuating according to market conditions. Therefore, make sure you understand the risks before making any investment decisions.