Memes are sold as NFTs for millions of dollars

The last 15 years have seen an explosion of digital content, which is constantly renewed, thanks to the appearance of social networks and the arrival of smartphones.

In the forums, memes were popularized as a source of daily humor or criticism at some juncture, as they could be created by anyone with ease. Over time, these images have become a constant on the networks and, in fact, there are some so popular that they have already become ‘classics’ on the internet.

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Now, some of those memes, which have been popular in recent years, are auctioned off for art collectors to acquire at exorbitant prices. This is the case of the well-known ‘Nyan Cat’ meme, a simple illustration of a cat with a cake body that leaves a rainbow trail on a starry sky.

The illustration was sold for almost 600 thousand dollars, that is, just over two billion pesos, as an NFT. Apart from this meme, other classics such as the GIF of some Ghanaian men dancing while carrying a coffin, or ‘Disaster Girl’, of a girl smiling mischievously with a fire behind her, have been sold for values ​​between half a million and one million dollars, reaching 4 billion pesos per image.

The sale of memes and the new economy

The creator of ‘Nyan Cat’, the Puerto Rican Chris Torres, explained to the ‘EFE’ news agency that he has become an expert in the economy of memes, and help other creators of this type of content to monetize their pieces and virality.

Ten years ago his illustration became an internet icon, when he included it in a YouTube video. Later she became a GIF and they even created a song for the rainbow kitty. Despite the popularity of her work, she never saw a penny for any of those performances.

Now, with the market for NFTs, has managed to monetize ‘Nyan Cat’ by auctioning it off for Ethereum.

This is a meme from the year 2017 (Photo: taken from social networks)

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On the other hand, the executives of the company expressed, in a financial meeting that took place in April, that lThe company is making budget cuts and the launch of the new device would imply more expenses than the profits would be.

According to statements by Mark Zukerberg, executive director of Meta, revealed in ‘Bloomberg’, there will be a reduction in investments of approximately 3 billion dollars (more than 11 billion Colombian pesos).

This budget cut has affected the company’s performance in the managerial and manufacturing areas, which implies that They will prioritize other projects that will yield better economic results.

For his part, Torres speaks of a new financial area, the ‘meme economy’ in which these NFTs represent a transformation for the commercialization of art. The Puerto Rican has collaborated with Snoop Dogg and DJ Steve Aoki, creating custom versions of ‘Nyan Cat’ to represent the artists.

What is an NFT?

A Non-Fungible Token it is a digital image that has a unique and unrepeatable code. That is what is really sold, because the box can be shared infinitely, but the code that represents it cannot.

They have revolutionized the digital art market, since they are listed in various cryptocurrencies in the world, which despite a recent drop in their prices, the strongest such as Ethereum are still valued at 1,700 dollars per unit. That is, one of these cryptocurrencies has a value of more than six million pesos.

Thus, virtual creations and designs can be auctioned in cryptocurrency markets through NFTs and enter the digital collections of fans and critics of digital art.

GDA / Weather / Colombia

Source: Elcomercio