The Top Seven Most Expensive Meme NFTs in History

Last week, a photo of a Shiba Inu named Achi wearing a knitted hat sold for a staggering $4.3 million, becoming the most expensive meme NFT in history. This photo originated from the widely circulated "Dogwifhat" meme on the internet. High-priced meme NFTs are not a new phenomenon; over the years, the fusion of internet culture and the crypto world has given rise to multiple well-known meme NFTs. Let's take a look at the seven most expensive meme NFTs ever sold.

1. Dogwifhat: 4.3 million USD

Last week, the Dogwifhat NFT was sold for 1,210.759 ETH (approximately $4.31 million). This price was largely due to the original Dogwifhat meme's popularity online since the end of 2019, as well as the recent surge of the meme coin WIF on Solana. WIF's market capitalization once surpassed the $3 billion mark.

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

2. Doge: 4.2 million USD

Before Dogwifhat, the Doge meme 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 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 creation of the first meme coin, Dogecoin. Buyers later split the Doge NFT into billions of tokens, creating immense value.

3. Frog Pepe: 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 amphibious character is renowned in both internet and crypto culture, and it 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 Three Arrows Capital and anonymous investors. After the bankruptcy of Three Arrows Capital, this NFT was recently sold to an executive in the crypto industry.

4. Charlie Bit My Finger: $761,000

On May 22, 2021, the NFT of the early viral YouTube video "Charlie Bit My Finger" was sold for $760,999. The parents of the two children in the video hoped to raise funds for their kids' college tuition through the NFT sale. This strategy proved quite successful, and the NFT was eventually purchased by a collector in Dubai.

5. Nyan Cat: $590,000

On February 19, 2021, creator Chris Torres sold the 2011 viral Nyan Cat animation NFT for 300 ETH (approximately $590,000 at the time). This auction essentially opened the concept of meme NFTs as an asset class, and many other well-known meme creators began to tokenize their works as NFTs.

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). This meme originates from a photo taken of Zoe Roth as a child in front of a burning building, which later became a classic expression representing "schadenfreude."

7. Overly Attached Girlfriend: $411,000

In the spring of 2021, Laina Morris tokenized her 2012 viral "Overly Attached Girlfriend" meme photo as an NFT and sold it for 200 ETH (approximately $411,000).

It is worth noting that, apart from Dogwifhat, all other works on this list were sold in 2021, showcasing the fervor of the meme NFT market that year. As the NFT market evolves, we may see more classic memes revived in the form of NFTs.