Face of Viral 2012 Meme Cashes In on NFT Craze With Huge Ethereum Payout

Laina Morris, the star of the overly attached girlfriend (OAG) meme, just sold the NFT version of her viral image for a sizeable amount of Ethereum (ETH). 

The Overly Attached Girlfriend meme is a screenshot from a 2012 parody video of Justin Bieber’s song “Boyfriend” portraying Morris as an aggressively clingy girlfriend with a creepy stare. 

Morris is cashing in on the booming market for non-fungible token (NFT) assets by selling an authenticated version of her memefied image. 

By owning the Overly Attached Girlfriend #NFT, you’re guaranteed to never be alone again.

Ever. ??https://t.co/zJQ5keWmlh pic.twitter.com/aZD6P00CJh

— Laina (@laina622) April 2, 2021

The digital item fetched 200 Ethereum (ETH), or $415,430, from 3F Music, a Dubai-based buyer of high-value NFTs. 

NFTs rely on unique cryptographic properties which enable the blockchain to verify the originality and ownership of digital assets including artworks, parcels of virtual lands, and collectibles.

The NFT mania is reaching fever pitch with artists like rapping icon Snoop Dogg and Grammy winner The Weeknd hopping on the bandwagon. Last month, graphic artist Beeple sold a digital artwork for a record-smashing $69,346,250.

Amid the NFT craze, some fear that the market is partially a bubble. Says crypto asset investment firm BlockTower Capital CIO Ari Paul,

“It’s simultaneously a bubble and a game changer, like the internet in 1999 or Bitcoin in 2017. In my opinion, existing NFT valuations are a bubble *and* total value of all NFTs will be 100x here in 5 years.”