Top 7 Most Expensive Meme NFTs: DOGE, Frogs, and Cats Lead the Way

Recently, a photo of a dog wearing a wool hat was sold for over $4.3 million, making it the most expensive meme NFT in history. This photo is not an ordinary dog, but Achi the Shiba Inu from the widely circulated "Dogwifhat" meme on the internet.

This high-priced transaction is not an isolated case. Over the years, the integration of internet culture and the crypto world has given rise to a series of well-known meme NFTs. This article will review 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 can largely be attributed to the popularity of the original Dogwifhat meme on the internet since the end of 2019, as well as the recent success of the meme coin WIF on Solana.

It is reported that this NFT photo was randomly taken by Achi's Korean owner in 2018. After deducting fees, the auction will bring in about $4.1 million. Ultimately, the photo was purchased by the well-known anonymous cryptocurrency trader GCR through a digital art platform.

2. DOGE: 4.2 million USD

Before Dogwifhat, the record for the most expensive meme NFT was held by the ancestor of the DOGE meme, Doge. On June 11, 2021, a photo of the Shiba Inu Kabosu, taken by Japanese kindergarten teacher Atsuko Satō, was sold for 1696.9 ETH (approximately $4.234 million).

The Doge meme is not only an important part of internet culture but also inspired the birth of the first meme coin, DOGE. Buyers subsequently split the Doge NFT into billions of tokens, creating hundreds of millions of dollars in value.

3. Pepe the Frog: 3.5 million dollars

On October 5, 2021, the original Pepe the Frog Genesis NFT created by Matt Furie was sold for a high price of 1000 ETH (approximately $3.5 million). This green amphibian image, which has long been associated with crypto culture and was exploited by the far-right, has inspired the successful meme coin Pepecoin on Ethereum.

This NFT represents the first comic strip file depicting the character drawn by Furie in November 2006. The original buyer was an NFT fund formed by a certain crypto hedge fund and anonymous investors. Recently, this NFT was resold to an executive in the crypto industry due to liquidation reasons.

4. Charlie bit my finger: $761,000

On May 22, 2021, one of YouTube's most iconic early videos "Charlie Bit My Finger" was sold as an NFT for $760,999. In the video, Charlie, who is teething, and his brother's parents hope to raise college tuition for their children through the NFT.

This strategy was quite successful, and the NFT was ultimately acquired by the Dubai collector 3FMusic. Although the initial plan was to take the video down from YouTube to enhance the NFT's value, at the buyer's request, the video is still available for viewing on YouTube.

5. Nyan Cat: $590,000

On February 19, 2021, artist Chris Torres sold the Nyan Cat animation NFT, which first became popular in 2011, for 300 ETH (approximately $590,000 at the time). This auction essentially pioneered meme NFTs as an asset class.

Torres's success has inspired many other meme creators to tokenize their works as NFTs, allowing them to gain substantial returns from the internet historical snippets they created.

6. Disaster Girl: $430,000

On April 17, 2021, Zoe Roth sold the NFT of her childhood photo known as "Disaster Girl" taken at the scene of a fire for 180 ETH (approximately $430,000). This meme, referred to as "Disaster Girl," is one of the most iconic memes of the early 21st century.

7. Overly Attached Girlfriend: $411,000

In the spring of 2021, Laina Morris tokenized her "Overly Attached Girlfriend" meme photo that went viral in 2012, ultimately selling it for 200 ETH (approximately $411,000).

It is worth noting that, apart from the recent Dogwifhat, the other works on this list were sold in 2021, highlighting the fervor of the meme NFT market that year. With the development of the NFT and cryptocurrency markets, there may be more unique meme works entering this list in the future.