Would you pay US$590,000 for a meme? Nyan Cat just sold for six figures worth of cryptocurrency, opening the door to even more expensive online NFT art sales
- Chris Torres created the quirky flying space cat with a Pop-Tart for a body, released on YouTube in 2011
- To celebrate the viral GIF’s 10th anniversary, Torres did a one-of-a-kind remastered version – that just sold for 300 Ether on crypto art platform Foundation
A one-of-a-kind digital rendition of the Nyan Cat meme from 2011 sold for about US$590,000 in an online auction last Friday, February 19.
Over the past few weeks, online sales of non-fungible tokens – more commonly known as NFTs – have taken off, as cryptocurrencies like bitcoin boomed.
NFT art products – which operate as a type of digital asset or token – have in some instances sold for over US$3.5 million a piece, contributing to a crypto art market that is currently valued at over US$100 million.
For Chris Torres, the creator of Nyan Cat, the NFT sale represented his first foray into crypto art.
“I’m very surprised with the success, but I think I’m most glad knowing that I’ve basically opened the door to a whole new meme economy in the crypto world,” Torres told Nasdaq.
Torres remastered the original animated GIF for its 10 year anniversary and ran a 24-hour auction on the crypto art platform Foundation on February 18.
The platform itself had only just launched two weeks prior and allows artists like Torres to continue to profit off their work if a buyer resells the piece later on for further profit.
I think I’m most glad knowing that I’ve basically opened the door to a whole new meme economy in the crypto world