NFT Mania Continues As Someone Buys An NFT Pet Rock For $103k

In the latest EtherRock NFT drop, a simple grey and black digital illustration of a “pet rock” has sold for over US$100,000.

EtherRock #33 is one out of a collection of 100 digital rock NFTs, but it isn’t just any rock. EtherRocks is a project that was launched just after CryptoPunks NFTs in 2017.

The EtherRock series is a collection of the first NFTs created and minted on the Ethereum blockchain, making them highly sought-after because of their crypto pedigree. The number one piece from the series, rock ID #0, has an asking price of 1000 ETH (a cool US$3 million).

Is NFT Mania Out of Hand?

Have people gone mad, or will these NFTs hold their value and stand the test of time? These virtual rocks serve no purpose beyond being able to be bought and sold, giving each owner little more than a sense of pride in being the owner of one of 100 rocks in existence.

All 100 out of 100 EtherRocks have been sold. The only way now to own an EtherRock is to buy it from an existing owner, when and if one is listed for sale.

Last week, Crypto News Australia reported the auction sale of the Steve Jobs’ Job Application, where the real-world piece sold for 15 times more than its NFT asset. The difference with high-calibre NFTs such as those derived from the EtherRock series is that these particular NFTs are priced on the perceived collectible value they hold. This is because they date back to the days when NFT mania was new. There is no real-world physical asset sold with these NFTs, just the status of owning a rare digital collectible.