Ghana’s dancing pallbearers have sold their famous coffin dance meme as Non-Fungible Token or NFT for over $1 million.
The sale of the meme was led by the Ukrainian advertising agency, Zlodei Advertising. The agency said it sold it at an NFT auction for 327 ETH (ether), which is equivalent to $1,047,806. Dubai-based 3F Music came out on top in the bidding round. This means 3F Music is now the official owner of the Coffin Dance meme.
The New Voice of Ukraine reports that at least $250,000 from the sale will go to support Ukraine through the international charitable foundation Come Back Alive. Also, $500,000 will go to the stars of the viral video and the creator of the meme while the advertising agency will receive $250,000.
“We negotiated for a long time – almost a year-and-a-half… For the last few months, we have been actively working on the concept, which was changed due to the outbreak of war. But the result is really cool. We are happy to share this success, even more,” the creators of the Coffin Dance token said on Facebook.
“We have almost no profit from our popularity before. All meme videos were monetized by the music label. We need your support for further creative development, as well as help from Ukraine. We can do a lot if we finally have the resources to develop our creativity, this will also give an ever-increasing value to our world fame put up for auction,” Benjamin Aidoo, the leader of the group, added.
The dancing pallbearers went viral in 2020 amidst the pandemic and attracted both local and international interest. Their coffin dance meme served as a warning message for people to stay indoors in order to stop the transmission of the virus and to save them from death.
The meme was even shared by former U.S. President Donald Trump on his official Facebook page, which mocked a controversial statement made by his Democratic rival, Joe Biden.
“Our dance has always been cheerful, and we have tried to give a smile to this world amid the difficult time. We do not consider death to be something good. It is very bad. And throughout our dance, we are trying to heal the soul and hearts of loved ones and relatives,” explained Aidoo.
