The Top Seven Most Expensive Meme NFTs in History

Last week, a photo of a Shiba Inu wearing a knitted hat was sold for an astonishing over $4.3 million, making it the most expensive meme NFT in history. This photo is not just an ordinary dog picture, but the prototype Shiba Inu Achi from the widely circulated internet meme "Dogwifhat."

This high-priced transaction is not an isolated case. In recent years, the fusion of internet culture and the crypto world has led to the creation of several well-known meme NFTs. Let's take a look back at the most expensive meme NFT transactions in history.

1. Dogwifhat: 4.3 million USD

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

According to reports, this NFT photo was casually taken by Achi's Korean owner in 2018. After deducting related expenses, the seller expects to receive approximately $4.1 million in profit. This transaction was completed by well-known cryptocurrency trader GCR through the digital art platform Foundation.

2. Doge: 4.2 million USD

Before Dogwifhat, the Doge meme held the record for the most expensive meme NFT. In June 2021, a photo of the Shiba Inu Kabosu taken by Japanese kindergarten teacher Atsuko Satō 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, Dogecoin, in the crypto world. The buyer PleasrDAO subsequently split this NFT into billions of tokens, creating a huge ecosystem made up of Doge enthusiasts.

3. Frog Pepe: $3.5 million

In October 2021, the original Pepe the Frog Genesis NFT created by Matt Furie was sold for 1000 ETH (approximately 3.5 million USD). This green frog image has not only spread widely on the internet but is also closely tied to crypto culture, and last year it even led to the successful meme coin Pepecoin on Ethereum.

This NFT represents the first comic strip depicting the character drawn by Furie in November 2006. The purchaser is the NFT fund Starry Night Capital, co-founded by Three Arrows Capital and anonymous investor Vincent Van Dough.

4. Charlie bit my finger: $761,000

In May 2021, YouTube's iconic early video "Charlie Bit My Finger" also made its way to the blockchain. The parents of the two boys in the video hoped to raise funds for their children's college tuition through NFTs.

This strategy was quite successful: the NFT was eventually sold for $760,999, with the buyer being Dubai collector 3FMusic. Although there were initial plans to take the video down from YouTube after the sale, the video is still available on YouTube since the buyer didn't mind.

5. Nyan Cat: $590,000

In February 2021, creator Chris Torres created an NFT from the pixel animation Nyan Cat, which became popular in 2011, and auctioned it off. This auction generated a huge response and essentially pioneered meme NFTs as a new asset class.

In the end, this NFT was sold to an anonymous crypto user for 300 ETH (approximately $590,000 at the time). Since then, many other well-known meme creators have followed suit, starting to tokenize their works as NFTs, thereby receiving the rewards and clear ownership they deserve.

6. Disaster Girl: $430,000

A photo of Zoe Roth as a child, showing a mischievous smile in front of a burning building, became the famous "Disaster Girl" meme on the internet. In April 2021, Roth auctioned the NFT of this original photo on the NFT platform Foundation.

In the end, the NFT was sold for 180 ETH (approximately $430,000), with the buyer being 3FMusic. This auction finally allowed Roth to gain returns from the internet cultural phenomenon he created.

7. Overly Attached Girlfriend: $411,000

The "Overly Attached Girlfriend" meme character Laina Morris, who became popular in 2012, also joined the NFT craze in the spring of 2021. She auctioned the NFT of that meme photo on the Foundation platform.

The auction was quite successful, and Morris earned 200 ETH (approximately $411,000 at the time). This piece was also acquired by the NFT collector 3FMusic.

The spring of 2021 can be said to be the golden period for meme NFT auctions. Apart from the recent Dogwifhat, all other works on this list were sold during that time, reflecting the heated state of the NFT market.