In the last few months alone, non-fungible tokens (NFTs) have taken the world by storm. But in their wake, they have left some of us struggling to wrap our heads around this innovation. Would you say you’re one such person? If so, we’ve got you covered! So, without further ado, let’s take a look at all things NFTs and even read about 20 of the most expensive NFTs sold.
Some FAQs about Non-fungible Tokens (NFTs)
Before we reveal the most expensive NFTs sold so far, we’d like to answer a few frequently asked questions about them.
What are NFTs?
Non-fungible tokens are digital assets that represent things like artwork, music, videos, photographs, and so on. They can be used to buy and sell real-world things as well as virtual objects stored in a digital medium. In this sense, these tokens can be thought of as a digital certificate of ownership over the object it represents. (1, 2)
How does an NFT work?
Each NFT is encoded with a set of unique data, which means that whoever owns an NFT gets exclusive rights to it. NFTs also run on a technology called “blockchain,” which works similarly to a public ledger. These blockchains then record each transaction made through NFTs, making it easier to buy and sell the tokens. Most NFTs used today are part of the Ethereum blockchain. (1, 2)
Can memes be sold as NFTs?
Yes! Many popular memes have already been sold as NFTs. These are often sold by the original owners of the memes or photographs that went viral. Here, the NFT gets value because the world collectively gives value to the meme. So, as long as the meme remains popular, their NFTs also retain their value. (1, 2)
How does copyright work with NFTs?
As with most sales, NFTs also allow the creator of a particular intellectual property to retain its copyrights. If a copyright has to be transferred, it would require separate documents that explicitly state this. As a result, owning artworks, music, or photographs as NFTs typically means that the token’s owner cannot do much else with it other than resell the NFT. (1, 2)
Here are some of the most expensive things that have been sold as non-fungible tokens.
20 A Polish influencer’s “digital loveâ€: $250,000
Marta Rentel, who goes online by the name of @martirenti, is a popular influencer on Instagram with 731,000 followers. But now, she has become infamous for being the first person to sell their “digital love†as a non-fungible token. On 13 July 2021, Rentel made the sale to an unknown buyer at a price of $250,000. Along with that, the influencer also offered to go on a date with the buyer as a real-world token of the sale. (1, 2)
Robness is an NFT artist from Los Angeles, USA, who gained notoriety by selling an image of a trash can for $252,000. The image is called 64 gallon toter and depicts an ordinary plastic trash can with a glitching effect. Following the success of this sale, Robness has put out more such unusual artworks that have gained him a large following on social media platforms. (Source)
The Snoopverse is a virtual world created by the popular musician, Snoop Dogg. It is meant to provide online hangout spots and gaming experiences for its members and has numerous plots of land that can be purchased. On 3 December 2021, the platform drew attention when a fan bought some land next to Snoop Dogg’s in-universe property. This sale was made at $450,000, a large amount to pay for virtual property. (1, 2)
In 2008, Zoë Roth became an Internet sensation when a picture of her four-year-old self went viral as the “Disaster Girl†meme. This image, clicked by her father, depicts Roth smiling mischievously at the camera while a house burns in the background. In April 2021, Roth was once again thrust into the limelight when she decided to sell the meme’s original photograph as an NFT. It was then purchased by a collector for $473,000. Roth said that she would donate some of this money to charity and use the rest to pay off her student loan. (1, 2)
Mars House is a completely digital house that is the first of its kind to be sold as an NFT. Its creator, an artist named Krista Kim, wanted to design something that was more than just a two-dimensional image. As a result, buyers can upload this digital house into three-dimensional worlds and experience it with virtual- or augmented-reality goggles. This house was sold for 288 Ether, a cryptocurrency, which makes the amount is equivalent to about $500,000. (1, 2)
Nyan Cat is an animated GIF portraying a flying cat with a Pop-Tart body and a rainbow trail behind it. It was created nearly a decade ago by a man named Chris Torres. In February 2021, Torres remastered the original animated GIF and sold it as an NFT for $590,000. However, the meme’s buyer is anonymous and known only by a cryptocurrency wallet number on the platform, Foundation, where the NFT was sold. (1, 2)
In 2022, Propy, a real-estate startup company, sold an NFT-backed property in the US for about $653,000. This property is a 2,164-square-foot house with four bedrooms and two-and-a-half bathrooms located in Gulfport, Florida. At the end of the online sale, the rights to the property were transferred to the buyer (a user named “A.J.â€) as a non-fungible token. This is the first such application of NFTs in the US real estate market. (1, 2)
13 The “Charlie Bit My Finger” video: $760,999
In 2007, a video titled “Charlie Bit My Finger†became Internet famous after it was posted on YouTube. It shows a baby named Charlie biting down on his older brother’s finger as the older child cries out, “Charlie bit me!†Recently, in 2021, the family that owns the original video sold it as an NFT for a stunning $760,999. After an intense bidding war, the video was sold to a collector called “3fmusic.†(1, 2)
For five years, an Indonesian student named Sultan Gustaf Al Ghozali took one photograph a day of himself sitting in front of his computer. Then as a joke, he decided to sell these expressionless selfies as NFTs for $3 each. He had about 933 such photographs and he posted them online under the title “Ghozali every day.†Since then, at least 500 users have purchased these pictures, allowing him to collect more than $1 million in sales. (1, 2)
EtherRock is a crypto collectible that has been around since 2017, making it one of the oldest such collectibles today. It is essentially a clipart image of a rock that is sold as an NFT. However, since there are only 100 such images in the market, its value is driven up by its scarcity. In August 2021, the brand sold an NFT of its cartoon rock for a whopping $1.3 million. (Source)
