The Story Behind the CryptoDickbutts Ethereum NFTs Resurgence

Laugh if you want: Sales volume for the CryptoDickbutts NFT collection briefly surged last week shortly after Rug Radio host Farokh shared his 3.8 ETH (about $12,000) entry into the collection.

However, mirroring the sentiment in a recent tweet about memes from Andreessen Horowitz co-founder Marc Andreessen, the lasting appeal of this 15-year-old meme may be driven by something more than just lighthearted trolling.

Created in 2006 by the comic book artist K.C. Green, Dick Butts eventually became CryptoDickbutts—an NFT series on Ethereum. But what started as a joke among early CryptoPunk holders has grown into a community united in the realization that, despite the silly visuals, its continued success embodies core tenets of decentralization.

With only 161 NFTs in the OG collection released in March 2021, continued demand led to a Series 3 of 5,200 NFTs several months later in August, which were ranked according to traits like skins, butts, shoes, and hats. Notable among the Series 3 collection are 14 "legendary" one-of-one NFTs, one of which sold for 69 ETH (roughly $246,744) in October.

Along with initiatives in the CryptoDickbutt DAO (any verified CDB holder is welcome in the Decentralized Autonomous Organization) like merchandise and games, community members are working together to bridge the digital and physical worlds by acquiring a private island for events and downtime should any holder—a group that includes Steve Aoki, Blondish, ProbCause and Sartoshi—feel inclined to visit.

This effort has led to partnerships with Silver Jets, which offer OG and Series 3 holders 15% and 10%, respectively, on access to private charter flights. Other collaborations include an interactive Metaverse-style VR setting created by Naughty America and derivatives with artists like Killer Acid and Sergs—not to mention shared traits with the recently released 3D Alpacadabraz. The pseudonymous Gremplin also has mentioned ties between Cryptodickbutts and his most recent release, CrypToadz, via the same solidity developer that worked on both projects.

In light of the recent celebrity influx in popular NFT collections like Bored Ape Yacht Club and corporate branding of the Metaverse through companies like Meta, the steady rise of CryptoDickbutts is almost reminiscent of Bitcoin’s stand against the ivory towers of Wall Street in that through its design that mitigates brand takeovers key values are preserved for Web3 proponents, chiefly being freedom forever embedded within its token contract address  0x42069ABFE407C60cf4ae4112bEDEaD391dBa1cdB leading "42069" (an homage to crypto culture) with an ending "1cdB" standing for one CryptoDickbutt.

While there is no set road map, a recent doubling of Series 3 royalties to 5% will help fund more regular community-led initiatives in the future, as stated on the official CryptoDickbutt Twitter account.