Creator of the viral Nyan Cat admits meme-based cryptocurrencies resemble the chaotic Wild West, discloses $700K in fee expenditures but firmly declines any association with endorsements.
In the world of digital art, two popular memes have made significant waves – Nyan Cat and Trollface. While Carlos Ramirez, the creator of Trollface, remains relatively quiet on the subject, Chris Torres, the mind behind Nyan Cat, has shared his views on meme coins and NFTs.
Torres, who has been involved in the crypto space for nearly five years, finds it life-changing. However, when it comes to meme coins, he paints a cautious picture, referring to them as the "Wild West" due to their highly volatile and unpredictable nature. Despite earning significant fees, amounting to around $700,000, from his involvement with meme coins, Torres has explicitly denied endorsing them. He highlights concerns about the risks and ongoing regulatory challenges in this space [1].
On the other hand, Torres has embraced NFTs more directly. He created an NFT to commemorate the 10th anniversary of Nyan Cat’s creation and sold it at auction for $590,000. This NFT represents ownership of the digital artwork, even though copies of the image remain freely available online [2].
Torres's Nyan Cat isn't the only meme he's helped monetize through NFTs. He has also been involved in selling NFTs of other popular memes, such as Keyboard Cat, Bad Luck Brian, Scumbag Steve, and more, each for at least five figures [3].
The Bags platform, which allows anyone to launch a token and assign royalties to a user, has been a significant player in this space. A Nyan Cat token on the Bags platform reached a market cap of $12 million, while Torres has redeemed almost 4,000 SOL, currently worth over $706,000, from the platform [4].
In contrast, information about Carlos Ramirez's views on meme coins or NFTs is scarce. The results focus mainly on Chris Torres and the Nyan Cat meme. However, it is worth noting that Ramirez did sell his Trollface meme as an NFT for 42 ETH, approximately $69,000 at the time [5].
Torres, who prefers to focus on his 15-year art career, has collaborated with several projects to create NFT collections. One such collaboration was a 2023 Reddit Nyan Cat collection that temporarily took Reddit offline due to high demand [6].
Despite his cautious stance on meme coins, Torres acknowledges the potential of NFTs as a means to monetize and authenticate digital art. He believes NFTs are a more natural fit for art compared to meme coins, as they offer a more tangible way for artists to benefit from their creations [7].
In summary, while Carlos Ramirez's views on these topics remain unreported based on current data, Chris Torres seems wary of meme coins but supportive of NFTs as a means to monetize and authenticate digital art.
[1] Article about Chris Torres's views on meme coins
[2] Article about the Nyan Cat NFT auction
[3] Article about Chris Torres's involvement in selling NFTs of other memes
[4] Article about Torres's earnings from the Bags platform
[5] Article about Carlos Ramirez selling his Trollface meme as an NFT
[6] Article about the 2023 Reddit Nyan Cat collection
[7] Article about Torres's views on NFTs
- Chris Torres, the creator of Nyan Cat, has expressed a life-changing impact from the world of cryptocurrency, yet he maintains a cautious perspective on meme coins, referring to them as the "Wild West" due to their volatility and regulatory challenges.
- Despite his reservations, Torres has wholeheartedly embraced NFTs, using them to sell digital art collectibles representing significant funds, such as his Nyan Cat NFT that fetched $590,000 at auction and other meme-themed NFTs for five figures each.
- The Bags platform, which allows the launch of tokens and user royalty assignments, has played a crucial role in this new market, with a Nyan Cat token reaching a staggering market cap of $12 million and Torres redeeming over $706,000 worth of SOL from the platform.
- Artificial Intelligence has not been a focus for either Chris Torres or Carlos Ramirez, the creators of Nyan Cat and Trollface, in the digital space. However, Torres has collaborated with various projects to create NFT collections, including a 2023 Reddit Nyan Cat collection that temporarily interrupted Reddit's functionality due to high demand.
- While there is limited information available regarding Carlos Ramirez's views on meme coins and NFTs, he did sell his Trollface meme as an NFT for an equivalent of approximately $69,000 in Ether.
- Unlike meme coins, Torres believes that NFTs are a more natural fit for monetizing and authenticating digital art, offering a tangible means for artists to benefit from their creations in the ever-evolving landscape of blockchain-powered finance, technology, and investing, such as Decentralized Finance (DeFi) on platforms like Ethereum.