Rare NFT Embroiled In A Half-Million Dollar Lawsuit
A highly prized NFT of Pepe the Frog has taken center stage in a high-profile lawsuit poised to fetch a half-million dollars.
This article is more than 2 years old
NFTs are the puzzling cryptocurrency of the future. Though many don’t have the most intricate designs, they surprisingly sell for thousands of dollars. What makes a particular NFT worth a high price is up for debate, which is why this $500,000 lawsuit.
Matt Curie, the creator of Pepe the Frog, is being sued for half of a million dollars due to the selling of a Rare Pepe NFT. This crypto creation displays a green frog, nude, hanging out in a luxurious waterfall landscape. The Rare Pepe crypto figure is indisputably worth a ton of money, but its alleged reprinting has tanked the original price. This caused concern for the first buyer, who said Curie and the autonomous NFT organization that sells his Pepe artwork stated that this one would be a one-off creation.
Pepe has been a substantial part of the internet meme community for over a decade. As NFTs started to gain popularity, Pepe’s creator joined the ranks, minting Pepe-inspired tokens available for purchase. In 2016, Joe Looney, creator of the Rare Pepe Wallet, made 500 tokens called FEELSGOODMAN specifically for Curie to produce artwork for. After years of back and forth, the FEELSGOODMAN NFT was finished by Curie but decided on having the display included on only one token.
The FEELSGOODMAN NFT soon became the NFT with the mentioned lawsuit attached. The intention for this NFT is questionable since 500 were made but stored with the Chain/Saw NFT group. But, the one Pepe NFT that was on the market was purchased by Halston Thayer for more than 500,000, believing he was the sole owner of the rare token. According to blockchain records, and to Thayer’s dismay, more than a dozen FEELSGOODMAN NFTs circulated and were purchased against outlined intentions. This caused a significant devaluing of the original Pepe token, galvanizing Thayer to sue.
The lawsuit details the defendant’s false claims. Though Curie and PegzDAO, the autonomous community holding the Pepe NFT, claimed that only one would be auctioned off, 46 of the stored 99 were released to the public. The abundance of more FEELSGOODMAN tokens rapidly decreased the value of the first one auctioned to Thayer. Even worse for Thayer, the rest of the NFTs were allegedly given away for free, making his thousands of dollars spent unnecessary.
NFTs are not only confusing and expensive but commonly stolen between crypto fans. Just recently, a hacker was able to acquire $625 million worth of NFTs and other cryptocurrencies through a blockchain connected to a computer game. The game, known as Axie Infinity, has a blockchain bridge called the Ronin bridge, where players can withdraw and deposit cryptocurrencies. The fraudulent transfer was unfortunately discovered a week later when millions of tokens were reported missing. The hacker breached private security keys to unlock assets attached to the blockchain, quietly withdrawing tokens over an extended period.
NFTs are the baffling yet profitable way of the future. With many celebrities getting into the cryptocurrency game, the tokens receive more press than ever before. If you decide to dabble in this type of crypto, you better make sure the token is truly worth its asking price.
