The frenzy for non-fungible tokens (NFTs) is getting even more intense, as one of the Internet’s most recognizable memes becomes a near $550 million asset overnight. The Doge NFT, which represents a fraction of the Shiba Inu-inspired meme, doubled in value after going on sale for the first time on decentralized exchanges such as Uniswap and SushiSwap, according to CoinGecko data.
It’s a good sign that digital collectibles are becoming more mainstream, but the resulting hype also highlights how hard it is to assess true value in the NFT world. For example, many people will pay a fortune for an original Van Gogh painting, but if it turns out to be a fake or a worthless knockoff, the investor can be left with nothing. The same principle applies to NFTs, where some may be more valuable than others, depending on how much hype surrounds them and how well they hold up over time.
NFTs are increasingly being used by brands looking to increase brand awareness or consumer engagement, and this is particularly true of popular, meme-driven ones like the Doge NFT. For instance, the NFT version of the infamous “Doge” image has been used by car manufacturer Kia for a new Super Bowl ad campaign. The spot features a robot dog who escapes from an electronics store and chases a man driving an all-electric Kia EV6 vehicle. The robot then adopts the driver as its owner.
The ad is part of a wider NFT push by Kia, which has been working with Sweet, a New York-based NFT platform that attracts top creators, sports and entertainment brands and other brands to its platform. The company is leveraging its connections to the creator community and the popularity of the Doge NFT to increase exposure for both its real-world and digital products.
In addition to offering the NFTs for sale, Sweet has partnered with Petfinder to donate 90% of proceeds from its Dogs of BND NFT series to the nonprofit. The NFTs are preprogrammed to include information on breed, age, size, coat length and gender. Some of the NFTs are programmed to have traits indicative of older or larger dogs, as these tend to be adopted at a lower rate in real life.
Another NFT collection featuring dog-themed art was recently launched by Sweet, this time called “OG Doge.” Each NFT in the 10,000-piece OG Doge NFT collection is preprogrammed to grant members-only benefits, such as access to early releases from the NFT game studio and partners, and upcoming P2E games. The collection is set to include additional spinoff collections inspired by cats, birds and bulls. dog nft