A list of viral memes that earned big bucks as non-fungible tokens.
Oh, to be a viral meme and earn thousands of dollars. From “Bad Luck Brian” to “Success Kid”—the creators and faces of these memes have immortalized themselves on the internet. What’s more? In doing so, they have made a lot of money. Here’s a look at our list of top five memes that sold as NFTs:
Bad Luck Brian
Red-headed “Bad Luck Brian”—whose real name is Kyle Craven—has been the poster boy for people’s misfortunes since 2012. “Stops, drops and rolls…into another fire”, “Looks on the bright side…goes blind”, “Opens a business…gets fired” and more such captions accompany his braces-laden face. He took one for the team every time something went wrong in our lives. Now, he is reaping the reward with an NFT sale of US$36,000 in Ethereum. Yep, that much. What started off as a pretty bad yearbook photo turned into a covetable meme NFT sold for over US$30,000. Seems like things are going really well for “Bad Luck Brian”…perhaps too well?
Side-Eyeing Chloe
An unimpressed Chloe Clem flooded our Instagram feeds since 2013, when she side-eyed her mom in a video, as she was not thrilled with the prospect of going to Disneyland instead of school. She embodied the “um yeah…nope” emotion that nearly the whole internet resonates with today. In September 2021, the side-eyeing Chloe meme NFT sold for US$76,377.50. If she wasn’t thrilled with a trip to Disneyland, she definitely is with this. The Clem family will direct this money towards their two daughters’ education.
Disaster Girl
She is all of us, who create chaos and walk away unscathed. She is the Disaster Girl, or Zoe Roth. In 2005, Roth observed a controlled firemen’s exercise where they were setting a house ablaze and calming it down. Many kids looked on as the firemen hosed the house down. During this, Roth’s dad decided to take a picture, one that would change the course of her life and the internet. Her devilish smirk and narrow eyes as a house burned down behind her gave her the title of “Disaster Girl”. In April 2021, she sold the meme NFT for nearly half a million dollars. Her expression has adorned many disastrous events—the Titanic, historic wars, Covid-19. Still, what she plans on doing with the money is far from it. Roth plans on using the earnings to pay off her student loans and help charities.
Nyan Cat
Who knew that a pop tart cat farting a rainbow would earn US$590,000? Well, its creator Chris Torres, who uploaded the GIF in 2011, definitely didn’t. After the meme NFT sold in February 2021, Torres told CoinDesk, “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.”
Success Kid
Name a more deserving candidate for a highly profitable meme NFT, we will wait. The aptly named meme of the “Success Kid” clenching his fist and face in determination sold for US$52,586.85 of Ethereum. Got an extra chicken nugget in your McDonald’s order? Success Kid. Made it through the work week without wailing? Success Kid. Sold your viral meme for over US$50,000? Success Kid!
That memes can usher in more than just fame for their creators is thrilling. As NFTs rise in popularity, we will see how other meme creators make the most of this crypto asset.
Header Image by Freepik
