Viral Dog Photo Fetches $4.3 Million as NFT

The internet's love affair with dogs has taken an expensive turn. The original photo behind the surging Dogwifhat ($WIF) memecoin has just sold for a staggering 1,210 ETH ($4.3 million) as a non-fungible token (NFT).

It all started in 2018 with a seemingly ordinary picture: a Shiba Inu dog named Achi sporting a pink beanie. The photo quickly went viral, capturing hearts and sparking countless memes. Fast forward to December 2023, and a cryptocurrency inspired by the very same photo, Dogwifhat, exploded onto the scene.

Launched in December 2023 on the Solana blockchain, WIF skyrocketed in value, surging from less than a penny to a peak of $3 within a few months. This meteoric rise propelled WIF into the top 50 cryptocurrencies by market cap, currently valued at over $2.3 billion.

The current price of WIF, at $2.40, reflects a 21.17% decrease in the last 24 hours, mirroring the broader memecoin market downturn, though the token is still up 15.17% across the previous seven days, adding up to the 489.06% rally in terms of its monthly advance, according to Coinmarketcap data.

Fueling this remarkable journey is a passionate online community. Notably, the WIF community raised a record-breaking $650,000 to plaster Achi's face on the massive LED screen of the Las Vegas Sphere for a week.

The recent $4.3 million NFT sale of the original Achi photo adds another layer to the Dogwifhat phenomenon. This record-breaking auction, conducted on the Foundation marketplace using Ethereum (ETH), signifies the immense value internet communities can place on digital assets and memes.

Further fueling the Dogwifhat fire is a recent tweet by Elon Musk, the self-proclaimed "Dogefather" and a major influencer in the cryptocurrency space. Just 20 hours after Musk shared a St. Patrick's Day meme featuring three dogs wearing hats, the price of WIF surged by nearly 30%.