TikTok is entering the NFT space, a somewhat late but lucrative move.
Next month, the short-form video app will launch a collection of digital collectibles, titled "TikTok Top Moments," that will allow customers to "own a moment that broke the internet." TikTok Top Moments will sell six "culturally significant" TikToks as NFTs, the first being Rudy Willingham's artistic take on Lil Nas X hit "MONTERO."
The collection will also include a series of "one-of-one" moments, made in collaboration between TikTok personalities and NFT pioneers. For example, Brittany Broski — AKA Kombucha Girl — will team up with none other than Grimes to offer what we can only imagine is an... interesting creation.
Other team-ups include Bella Poarch x Grimes (Grimes again!), Curtis Roach x COiN ARTIST, and FNMEka x RTFKT.
It's hardly surprising that TikTok is cashing in on the NFT boom, given that old-school memes — such as YouTube video "Charlie Bit My Finger" — have fetched hundreds of thousands of dollars.
From message boards to Vine, some of the most decade-defining artifacts have originated online. Currently, TikTok serves as sort of ground zero for virality. This year alone, the app spawned fascinating cultural moments including CottageCore, 'Bama rush, and "CleanTok," a community of users who simply clean their homes on TikTok.
Willingham's Lil Nas X video will be auctioned on October 6 at a dedicated website powered by Immutable X, which has "the first carbon-neutral Layer-2 scaling solution for Ethereum." Not sure that means that the environmental impact of NFTs is entirely canceled out, though.
The good news is that the creators will apparently be getting paid from the sale of their collaborative NFTs. TikTok hasn't clarified how much of the cut they get, though, and if Immutable X, the celebrities, or even TikTok itself will be reaping a bit of that Ethereum payday.
Either way, better bring some deep pockets: the sky-high value of other viral artifacts ( "Disaster Girl" sold for nearly $500,000 earlier this year) — combined with Lil Nas X's ability to turn anything he touches into internet gold — suggests that things will get very pricey.
