Chinese crypto influencer makes over $5 million in 10 days selling her photos as NFTs

Ryan General
Updated 3 min read
0

A Chinese influencer’s non-fungible token (NFT) project has reached a trading volume of 2,300 ether (around $5.5 million) less than two weeks after its launch.

Singapore-based Yuqing Irene Zhao, 28, created the IreneDAO collection based on a sticker pack she made for her Telegram community, reported Cointelegraph.

The IreneDAO collection, which was launched on NFT marketplace OpenSea on Jan. 14, features 1,106 NFT images of the crypto influencer in different poses with crypto slang such as “gm,” “wen Binance” and “yes ser.” The collection’s slogan is “SIMP: Simplicity, Integrity, Meaning, and Purpose.”

The NFTs currently trade at a floor price of 1.47 of the cryptocurrency ether (approximately $4,668).

From sticker pack to NFT collection

A fan identified only as “libevm” reportedly encouraged Zhao to turn the sticker pack into an NFT collection after learning about the success of Indonesian college student Sultan Gustaf Al Ghozali. As NextShark previously reported, Ghozali made over $1 million by selling around 1,000 of his selfies as NFTs.

Zhao has even reached out to Ghozali on Twitter for a potential collaboration.




According to Zhao, she developed the IreneDAO NFT collection with libevm and business partner Benjamin Tang as part of their plan to create a decentralized platform called “Social Collectibles," or "So-Col.” Zhao described So-Col as a “decentralized version of OnlyFans, Discord, Twitch and Patreon” where content creators can monetize their content by converting them into NFTs.




“We at So-Col thought it was a great idea as we wanted to create a prototype for our core concept of a community-driven creator economy. We then extended the idea into a DAO, and libevm and my co-founder Ben hacked it together within a day,” she was quoted as saying.

“What we didn't expect was that our test case was an instant hit. In fact, I was not even aware when it was launched — I was out for a swimming lesson! By the time I came back from the pool after 40 minutes, the entire 500 NFTs were gone. I didn't even have one to myself!”

Some of the high-profile names who have bought into the IreneDAO NFTs include Galaxy Digital CEO Mike Novogratz and YouTuber Logan Paul.






Zhao, who previously earned a living promoting products on Instagram, explained in a lengthy Twitter thread that through NFTs, fans can now directly support her by investing in what she creates.




Featured Image via @b1gqing (left), OpenSea / IreneDAO (right)

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