Is the meme NFT-market dying?
On Friday, the NFT for the internet meme Side Eyeing Chloe was sold in an auction. It was valued at approximately $76,377.50.
Credit: screenshot: Foundation.app
NFTs are digital tokens which show ownership of digital artwork or any other online asset. These NFTs can be tracked using blockchain. This ownership does not include the transfer of copyright. Foundation, an NFT marketplace platform, hosted the auction.
Side Eyeing Chloe was a viral internet meme that her mother uploaded in 2013. It's called "Lily's Disneyland Surprise AGAIN".
The viral screengrab of Chloe Clem (the child in the video), giving her mother the side eye after she surprised her with a trip at Disneyland for her daughter, quickly went viral. Due to the popularity of the memes on Tumblr, Buzzfeed once called Side Eyeing Chloe "patron saint" of Tumblr.
It's clear that $76,000 is a large sum, especially when you consider the possibility of someone claiming ownership of an image they never intended to monetize. The sale is also pleasing to the Clem family, it's clear.
Chloe's mom Katie spoke to BBC and expressed disappointment at the price.
She said, "If we go based on meme sales before it's a bit higher, but we are so grateful for the sale price."
Katie has an interesting point. Meme NFTs have made headlines recently due to their high selling prices.
In May, the NFT for "Charlie Bit My Finger", a video about Charlie Bit My Finger was sold for $760,000. That same month, the NFT for "Disaster Girl", an image NFT, was sold for $500,000. NFT of the "Disaster Girl" image NFT was purchased that month for $500,000.
Know Your Meme, an internet site that tracks internet memes shows that the Disaster Girl image isn’t much more popular than Side Eyeing Chloe.
Why is there such a large price difference? The Disaster Girl NFT is worth half a million dollars, but Side Eyeing Chloe can't even crack the six figures. There could be several reasons.
NFT sales are down from their peak in April 2021. It's not only the price of NFTs dropping. The overall market activity has been dropping and continues to drop.
This market is dominated by a small group of NFT-buyers who make large purchases. This is perhaps best illustrated by the meme NFT-market.
One buyer has purchased the NFTs for all of the above mentioned memes, Charlie Bit My Finger and Disaster Girl, Overly Attached Girlfriend and even Side Eyeing Chloe. He is a Dubai-based music producer, 3F Music.
This means that if you want to sell an NFT for a meme you created, the value of it is determined by one person.
Side-Eyeing Chloe was sold for $76,377.50, because that's how 3F Music valued it.
