The viral 'I ain't never seen two pretty best friends' TikTok is being auctioned as an NFT
- The "I Ain't Never Seen Two Pretty Best Friends" TikTok will be auctioned off as an NFT.
- The video, which has over 54 million views, first went viral in October 2020.
- Selling viral videos as NFTs has become a lucrative option for creators.
The original "I ain't never seen two pretty best friends" viral TikTok video is being auctioned off as a non-fungible token (NFT), a unique digital asset purchased with cryptocurrency. The move follows several high-profile sales of viral videos or memes as NFTs.
Jordan Scott, the video's creator, said in the October 2020 video, "I ain't never seen two pretty best friends, always one of them gotta be ugly." The video quickly went viral, reaching over 54 million views as of Wednesday, and the audio was used by 66,000 users. Some creators have used the sound in an effort to disprove Scott's thesis, while others used it to playfully make fun of their friends.
Scott is auctioning off his viral video in NFT form on June 2 through a partnership with NetGems, a digital agency working with creators to sell their viral videos in the crypto market. The sale will begin on June 2 and last for 72 hours, ending on June 5.
NetGems will also be auctioning two early viral online hits the same day - the "Honey Badger Don't Care" video from 2011 and the "Numa Numa" video from 2004 - though the TikTok differs from the others due to its recency.
Selling viral video hits as NFTs has become an attractive option for creators, some of whom have sold their content for large sums of money. The family behind the "Charlie Bit My Finger" video made over $760,000 on an NFT sale; Chris Torres, the creator of the "Nyan Cat" gif, made nearly $600,000; and the "Disaster Girl" meme earned close to $500,000.
The video will be taken down from TikTok after the sale, according to NetGems. "We're trying to provide value to the NFT buyer by taking it off of TikTok, " Connor Flannigan, the co-founder of NetGems, told Insider.
Scott, the video's creator, told Insider that the co-founders of NetGems reached out to him and encouraged him to take advantage of the cryptocurrency boom. He said it was a "big thing" for him that NetGems wanted to partner with him, because he doesn't currently have a job or income, being that he just graduated from college with hopes of becoming an actor or model.
"I thought it was a great opportunity for me," Scott said.
Scott said he would be gifting the red jacket he wore in the original TikTok to the purchaser, who will have the opportunity to collaborate with him on a video.
While he said he's not going into the auction with any financial expectations, he said he was slightly nervous for the sale because his video doesn't have the same nostalgia factor that almost all of the other viral video NFT auctions have had. "I can't control what it would go for or what someone thinks the value is," he said.
Scott mentioned he remained hopeful because Nathan Apodaca - the man behind the viral video of himself drinking cranberry juice on a skateboard while listening to Fleetwood Mac's "Dreams" - auctioned off his recent TikTok as an NFT. (Apodaca's publicist told Insider in an email that there was a problem with the file and it has not yet been relisted.)
The money he makes from the sale will go towards helping him achieve his goal of being a full-time model and actor, according to Scott. "It could set me up to do great things and also just help me create something for my family one day," he said.
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