Mfers NFT (short for motherf***ers) is an Ethereum-based collection of stick figure NFTs designed by Sartoshi and generated entirely from hand drawings. Although their initial minting costs were low, they expanded in scale and laid the path for several subsequent meme collections. ^[1][2][3][4]

Overview

The Mfers NFT collection comprises a set of 10,000 meme NFTs, drawing inspiration from the original CryptoPunks NFT collection. Also, there are an additional twenty-one 1/1 NFTs created to honor 21 prominent NFTs from that particular period, such as Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC). ^[2] The mfers collection features individuals with distinctive characteristics depicted in a seated position at their computer workstations. ^[5]

History

On November 30, 2021, Mfers were minted, and the collection of 10,021 NFTs was made available for purchase. According to the official Mfers website, the value assigned to each distinct non-fungible token (NFT) was 0.069 ETH at the time of its creation. 21 of them are unique 1-on-1 NFTs inspired by the "Are you winning, son?" meme template, crafted by the artist. ^{[4] [6]}

The artist behind the NFTs, Sartoshi provided insights regarding the inspiration behind the development of the 1-on-1 Mfers:

"after being immersed in nfts during jpg summer ‘21 I also wanted to do a tribute to what I considered many iconic nfts at that point — so I added the 21 1/1 drawings in a style similar to the “are you winning dad” meme."

Mfers NFTs are in the public domain under a Creative Commons classification known as a CC0 license, meaning that the owners may use them for commercial purposes if they choose to. ^[2][3]

Mode of Operation

The anonymous founder Sartoshi announced in a blog that he transferred the NFT’s smart contract to the mfers community via the unofficial mfers multi-sig wallet. 50% of the royalties from the collection is for the multi-sig wallet where the community can decide what to do with the funds. The remaining 50% of royalties is divided among Sartoshi himself, other developers, and consultants who worked on the project. ^[11]

"the mfers smart contract is being transferred to the mfers community via the unofficial mfers multi-sig wallet, which will be receiving the largest share (50%) of the mfers creator royalty going forward for the community to do whatever it wants." - Sartoshi stated^[9]
[9]

Sartoshi's Exit & Return

On June 9th, 2022, Sartoshi announced their withdrawal from the MFers project and the NFT industry via Twitter and a blog post. The reason for their departure was not clearly stated in the official statement which led to speculation that it might be a rug pull. The "End of Sartoshi" NFT created by the artist sold 16,996 copies, earning Sartoshi approximately 1,172.7 ETH, or a little under $2 million at the time. ^[16][17]

On December 10, 2022, Sartoshi returned to the NFT scene after rumors claiming that another Twitter account, @MinisterOfNFTs, might be Sartoshi. The NFT artist returned to Twitter under the handle @Sartoshi_RIP^[15]. In a blog posted by the artist, they also stated that the "End of Sartoshi" NFTs will act as a continuing pass to unlock free claims to the highest-ranking NFT projects. ^[13][14]

Mfers on Lowe

In June 2023, Lowe, a home improvement retail chain released a physical garden flag featuring characters from Mfers. Since mfers are in the public domain under a Creative Commons classification known as a CC0 license, anyone can use mfers NFT characters to create any type of commercial good. ^[12]

Stephen Thompson and his brother-in-law Matthew Varnell started a company called Total Marketing Web3, or TM3 for short, as an umbrella company to oversee different projects that will combine NFT lore and real-world commercial products. ^[12]

Thompson and Varnell released their first product called the "Evergreen Siezenals" garden flag. The flag is 1 foot wide by 1.5 feet high and displays an image of two NFT characters enjoying tropical drinks on the beach, with the phrase "cc0 summer 2023" above them. The flag is referred to as "seizen #1/edition #1" in the website description and is priced at $39.98. According to Thompson and Varnell's website, there will be only 1,000 flags available, with each flag linked to a replica NFT that can be redeemed online. ^[12]

"The Web2 industry, as far as our experiences goes, is very curious and eager to tap into what is happening here in Web3" - Matthew Varnell explained^[12]