Revealing the Seven Most Expensive Meme NFTs in History

Last week, a photo of a dog wearing a knit hat was sold for over 4.3 million dollars, attracting widespread attention. This Shiba Inu, named Achi, is inspired by the viral "Dogwifhat" meme. This auction not only set the record for the highest price of a Meme NFT, but also once again proved the deep integration of internet culture and the crypto world.

Let's take a look back at the seven most expensive Meme NFTs in history:

1. Dogwifhat: 4.3 million dollars

Last week, the Dogwifhat NFT was sold for 1,210.759 ETH (approximately $4.31 million). This astonishing price is largely attributed to the continued popularity of the original Dogwifhat meme since the end of 2019, as well as the recent success of the eponymous meme coin WIF on Solana in the past few months.

It is reported that this photo was casually taken by Achi's Korean owner in 2018. After the auction ends, after deducting related fees, the original owner will receive approximately $4.1 million in profit. Ultimately, this piece was purchased by a well-known anonymous cryptocurrency trader through a digital art platform.

2. Doge: 4.2 million USD

Before Dogwifhat broke the record, Doge was the most expensive Meme NFT. In June 2021, a photo of the Shiba Inu Kabosu taken by Japanese kindergarten teacher Atsuko Satō was sold for 1696.9 ETH (approximately $4.234 million).

Doge is not only one of the most influential memes in internet culture, but it also inspired the creation of the first meme coin in the crypto world - Dogecoin. Buyers later split this NFT into billions of tokens, creating significant market value.

3. Pepe the Frog: 3.5 million USD

In October 2021, the original Pepe the Frog Genesis NFT created by Matt Furie was sold for 1000 ETH (approximately $3.5 million). This green cartoon frog image enjoys high recognition in both the internet and crypto communities, and last year it also spawned a successful Ethereum meme coin called Pepecoin.

This NFT represents the first multi-panel comic depicting Pepe created by Furie in November 2006. The work was initially acquired by an NFT fund, and later changed hands through a series of complex financial events, ultimately ending up with a cryptocurrency industry executive.

4. Charlie bit my finger: $761,000

In May 2021, the NFT version of the early popular YouTube video "Charlie Bit My Finger" was sold for $760,999. The parents of the two little boys in the video hoped to raise college funds for their children through the NFT.

This strategy has clearly been quite successful. Interestingly, although the initial plan was to take the video down from YouTube after the NFT was sold, it is still available on YouTube because the buyers didn't mind.

5. Nyan Cat: $590,000

In February 2021, creator Chris Torres sold the popular Nyan Cat animation as an NFT for 300 ETH (approximately $590,000 at the time). This auction is considered a key event that sparked the meme NFT craze, leading many well-known meme creators to follow suit and convert their works into NFTs.

6. Disaster Girl: $430,000

In April 2021, Zoe Roth sold the famous "Disaster Girl" NFT of her childhood photo for 180 ETH (approximately $430,000). This photo is one of the most iconic internet memes of the early 21st century, often used to express a feeling of "schadenfreude."

7. Overly Attached Girlfriend: $411,000

In the spring of 2021, Laina Morris turned her "Overly Attached Girlfriend" meme photo that went viral in 2012 into an NFT, which ultimately sold for 200 ETH (approximately $411,000).

It is worth noting that, in addition to the latest Dogwifhat, all six other works on this list were sold in 2021, showcasing the fervor of the NFT market that year. As cryptocurrency technology and internet culture continue to merge, we may see more astonishing Meme NFT trades emerge.