Collectors want to “own” the original digital file from which all the memes subsequently sprang: in McCurry’s case, the unedited, uncropped picture of Harambe, direct from his memory card. Since early 2021, wealthy collectors have started buying slices of early internet history: the original versions of the rudimentary viral videos and memes from the early days of the internet. The rock band Kings of Leon have generated more than £1.4m in NFT sales of their music this year alone. Once the files are uploaded and verified by a third party, they acquire a rarefied status, in much the same way as a hard-to-find stamp or unique piece of couture. NFTs can be used to record ownership of just about anything: digital art, music, films, games and pornography. These are unique digital assets that are stored on a blockchain, a decentralised ledger of transactions, the same technology used to buy and sell cryptocurrencies.

Then non-fungible tokens (NFTs sometimes pronounced as “niftys”) came along.

Me telling why meme