The comic strip that started it all has now been preserved and sold as an NFT.
“1pantsdownpee.jpg” by the artist Matt Furie is the origin of the iconic “feels good man” meme that launched Pepe the Frog into the meme consciousness of the masses.
Capitulating off the success of the Rare Pepes NFT series, this comic strip predates Rare Pepes by ten years and was originally a part of Matt Furie’s Myspace blog. After being preserved on a CD-R for years, the jpeg has finally been minted as an NFT authorized by the artist.
StarryNightCapital, lead by collector Vincent Van Dough, bought the Genesis Pepe piece for 1,000 eth, which equaled over 3.5 million dollars at the time of the sale. The next highest bid was for 205 eth.
Will this historic sale serve as a catalyst for future action in the Rare Pepe market? One thing is clear, demand for Rare Pepes has never been higher.