From Dogwifhat to Doge: A Look Back at the Seven Most Expensive Meme NFTs in History

Recently, a photo of a dog wearing a beanie was sold for over $4.3 million, breaking the price record for Meme NFTs. This Shiba Inu, named Achi, comes from the famous "Dogwifhat" internet meme, and the high sale price of its NFT version has attracted people's attention to the Meme NFT market.

Over the years, the integration of internet culture and cryptographic technology has given rise to many well-known Meme NFTs. Let's take a look at the seven most expensive Meme NFTs 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 was largely attributed to the popularity of the original Dogwifhat meme since the end of 2019, as well as the recent success of the similarly named meme coin WIF on Solana.

This NFT photo was randomly taken by Achi's Korean owner in 2018. After the auction, deducting related fees, the original owner expects to earn about $4.1 million. A well-known anonymous cryptocurrency trader purchased this photo through a digital art platform.

2. Doge: 4.2 million USD

Before Dogwifhat, Doge held the record for the most expensive Meme NFT. On June 11, 2021, a photo of the Shiba Inu Kabosu taken by Japanese kindergarten teacher Atsuko Sato was sold for 1696.9 ETH, equivalent to about $4.234 million at the time.

Doge is not only one of the most important meme images in internet culture, but it also inspired the first meme coin in the crypto world - Dogecoin. Buyers split Doge NFT into billions of tokens, creating enormous market value.

3. Pepe the Frog: 3.5 million USD

On October 5, 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 character is well-known in both the internet and crypto communities, and it inspired the successful meme coin Pepecoin on Ethereum.

This NFT represents the first comic strip depicting the character drawn by Furie in November 2006. The original buyer was an NFT fund established by a certain crypto hedge fund and anonymous investors.

4. Charlie bit my finger: $761,000

On May 22, 2021, an NFT version of one of YouTube's earliest and most iconic videos "Charlie Bit My Finger" was sold for $760,999. The parents of Charlie and his brother hope to raise funds for their children's college tuition through the NFT.

Although the initial plan was to take the video down from YouTube after the sale, the buyer didn't care, so the video is still available on YouTube to this day.

5. Nyan Cat: $590,000

On February 19, 2021, the NFT of the pixel animation Nyan Cat was sold for 300 ETH (approximately $590,000 at the time). This auction essentially pioneered the concept of meme NFTs as an asset class, leading many other well-known meme creators to follow suit.

6. Disaster Girl: $430,000

On April 17, 2021, the original photo NFT of the "Disaster Girl" meme was sold for 180 ETH (approximately $430,000). The photo features a young Zoe Roth smirking in front of a burning building, becoming one of the most iconic memes of the early 21st century.

7. Overly Attached Girlfriend: $411,000

In the spring of 2021, Laina Morris turned her 2012 viral "Overly Attached Girlfriend" meme into an NFT, selling it for 200 ETH (approximately $411,000). This successful auction took place shortly after the groundbreaking sale of Nyan Cat.

The transactions of these high-priced Meme NFTs reflect the deep integration of internet culture and blockchain technology, and provide a new way for meme creators to monetize their works. As the NFT market continues to evolve, we may see more innovative and high-value digital artworks emerge.