A small, pink knitted beanie, once a simple Christmas decoration, recently fetched a hefty sum at auction. This wasn’t just any hat. It was the original headwear for Achi, the Shiba Inu whose iconic photo launched the Dogwifhat meme. The final bid landed at 6.8 Bitcoin, which translated to just over $794,000 at the time of sale.
- A pink knitted beanie worn by the Shiba Inu Achi, the subject of the Dogwifhat meme, was sold at auction for 6.8 Bitcoin, equivalent to over $794,000. The auction faced disruptions due to fake bids, leading to increased collateral requirements.
- The winning bidder, “Finn,” founder of the Solana memecoin launchpad Bags, acquired the hat for his platform, aiming to integrate it with the “BUY THE HAT” token. This acquisition highlights the growing trend of physical internet artifacts being valued in the crypto space.
- The Dogwifhat meme originated from a photo of Achi in the hat in 2018, going viral and inspiring a Solana-based cryptocurrency, WIF. The physical hat’s sale follows the NFT of the iconic photo, which previously sold for approximately $4.3 million.
The auction took place on Ord City, a marketplace for Bitcoin Ordinals. It drew considerable attention, and not always the good kind. At one point, the proceedings had to pause. A flurry of fake bids flooded in, including one for an impossible amount of Bitcoin, equal to the entire 21 million BTC supply. Ord City, perhaps a little exasperated, noted on X, “We massively underestimated your degeneracy.” They quickly adjusted, raising the collateral requirement for bidders to keep things honest.
The winning bidder was a pseudonymous figure known as “Finn.” He is the founder of Bags, a launchpad for Solana memecoins. Finn made the purchase on behalf of his platform, outmaneuvering two other determined competitors during the 48-hour event. It was a strategic move, or so he declared.
After the auction closed, Finn took to X to share his excitement. “I’m excited to announce that Bags has made its first acquisition,” he wrote. He added the hat to the Bags avatar. Then came the bold claim: “We’ve acquired a $1B hat for just $0.7M. Get ready for what’s coming next.” It was a statement designed to turn heads, certainly.
Bags operates on a model where token deployers share trading fees with users on X. Finn claimed he funded the winning bid using fees from a specific Bags-deployed token. This token, aptly named “BUY THE HAT,” saw its value surge. It gained over 700% in the 24 hours following the auction, pushing its market capitalization to $7.8 million.
Finn also hinted at his plans for the hat. He stated he would “make sure the hat goes back to the community in some way.” This could involve linking the token directly to the hat, perhaps creating a unique bridge between the physical and digital worlds. It’s a curious blend of internet culture and crypto economics, isn’t it?
The Hat’s Journey From Meme to Millions
The story of the Dogwifhat meme began in 2018. The pink hat, originally handcrafted for Christmas, was first photographed on Achi, a charming Shiba Inu, in November of that year. The image quickly found its way to Instagram and then exploded across platforms like Reddit and Twitter by 2020. Its simple, whimsical charm resonated with internet users, making it a viral sensation.
The meme’s popularity eventually inspired a Solana-based cryptocurrency, WIF, in late 2023. This memecoin quickly gained a devoted following and a significant market presence. The hat, the very object that started it all, became a symbol of this digital phenomenon.
To ensure the hat’s authenticity for the auction, Ord City went to great lengths. They provided high-resolution photos and a detailed video. This material traced the meme’s origin and confirmed the hat’s provenance directly from Achi’s owners. In the world of internet artifacts, verifying authenticity is often as important as the item itself.
Achi’s owners shared their thoughts on X after the sale. They congratulated Finn on his winning bid. “This hat has been a lucky charm for us and a piece of internet culture that has traveled across chains, timelines, and communities, carrying our story along the way,” they posted. They expressed hope that the hat would bring Finn and his community the same “luck, fun, and serendipity” it had brought them. It’s a sweet sentiment for a piece of fabric that has seen so much digital life.
Physical Hat Versus Digital Image
While nearly $800,000 for a knitted beanie is a substantial sum, it pales in comparison to another related sale. The iconic Dogwifhat photo itself, the one that started it all, was sold as an NFT (a non-fungible token) earlier this year. That digital asset fetched a far higher price, highlighting the interesting valuations in the crypto space.
In March 2024, after a three-day auction on the NFT marketplace Foundation, crypto trader Gigantic Rebirth Ventures made the winning bid. The price? A staggering 1,210.8 ETH. At the time, this was worth approximately $4.3 million. Today, with Ether’s price movements, that figure would be closer to $4.7 million. It’s a stark reminder that in the digital age, a digital image can sometimes command a higher price than the physical object it depicts.
The Dogwifhat (WIF) token itself has seen its own share of market volatility. It currently trades around $0.92, showing a modest 3.2% gain over the past 24 hours. However, like many memecoins, it has experienced a significant decline from its peak. The token is down over 70% since it reached its highest point, which was around the time the iconic photo NFT was sold. Despite this drop, it still holds a market capitalization of nearly $1 billion. This shows the enduring, if sometimes unpredictable, power of internet culture in the crypto market.
Finn’s acquisition of the physical hat adds another layer to the Dogwifhat saga. Will his plans to “return the hat to the community” through the Bags platform and the “BUY THE HAT” token create a new wave of interest? Or is this simply another fascinating chapter in the ongoing story of internet memes crossing into the world of high-stakes crypto assets?