If Taco Bell, Ja Rule, and Lindsay Lohan didn’t already signal the potential coming top of the current non-fungible token (NFT) crypto collectible craze, today’s announcement might be the cherry on a heaping pile of brand and celebrity-backed tokens: toilet paper brand Charmin has just launched its own NFTs.
Yes, there are now toilet paper NFTs. The Procter & Gamble-owned brand just rolled out a series of digital cryptographic collectibles that they’re appropriately calling “NFT(P)s.” Five total Charmin NFT crypto artwork pieces are currently up for auction at Rarible, with the top bid on any of the pieces sitting at 0.15 WETH (about $265) as of this writing.
All proceeds from the sale will go to benefit the charity Direct Relief, which provides medicine and supplies around the globe. Charmin has already donated $2 million to Direct Relief over the last year, independently of this latest promotion.
Charmin worked with artists Donna Adi, Shanee Benjamin, and Made by Radio to produce original artwork for the collectibles, while one of the other NFTs features the familiar Charmin cartoon bears from its marketing materials. Each winning bidder will also receive a physical display so they can show off their “NFT(P)” alongside the real thing in the bathroom.
NFT crypto collectibles have been on a tear lately, with $342 million in total trading volume in February alone—more than in all of 2020 combined. In addition to the aforementioned brand and celebrity participants, the rapidly-growing scene has also attracted NFT sales from the likes of musicians Grimes and Kings of Leon, as well as NFL star Rob Gronkowski. Last week, crypto artist Beeple sold a single piece of NFT artwork for $69 million via Christie’s auction.
In the case of Taco Bell, the fast-food restaurant released a series of taco NFTs that started at just 0.001 ETH (then $1.79), which is very low for a high-profile NFT. However, 0.01% of all future secondary sales of the NFTs will go to the Taco Bell Foundation, which helps young people secure careers.
So if you’re still sitting on a stack of so-called shitcoins, why not put them towards a good cause: you might end up with an NFT to frame up in the can, and what better time to reflect on the delightful absurdity of branded crypto collectibles?
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The views and opinions expressed by the author are for informational purposes only and do not constitute financial, investment, or other advice.