'Doge' Meme NFT Sells for Millions

Taking a picture of your adorable dog and posting it so other people can admire her, too, is usually its own reward. But Atsuko Sato, a kindergarten teacher in Japan, is also getting a record-setting $4 million worth of Ethereum after selling it as an NFT, NBC News reports. Her dog, or should we say doge, is the famous shiba inu who launched an entire category of memes. You might recognize her sweet pup Kabosu as the face of Dogecoin, too. Sato first posted the famous photo of Kabosu to her personal blog in 2010. The image found its way to Reddit soon after, where it blossomed into a meme featuring the dog's sweet, wide-eyed expression paired with adorably puzzling syntax.

Meme prices selling as NFTs—non-fungible tokens—have been climbing like Dogecoin, which is up to 30 cents a pop after holding steady at much, much less than a penny for years. The Nyan cat gif sold for about $600,000, Business Insider reports. “Disaster Girl” and "David After Dentist" have also hit mid six figures, too, earning nest eggs for the young people pictured in them. There are seven more photos of Kabosu going up for sale soon. Some of the proceeds from Sato's windfall from the sale of the image will go to the Japanese Red Cross, the World Food Programme, and other charities.