The owners of the famous “Dogwifhat” meme dog are seeking to capitalize on the $3 billion phenomenon they inadvertently sparked. However, tensions have emerged between the Solana community, where the Dogwifhat (WIF) meme coin thrives, and the real-life owners of the Shiba Inu dog.
The South Korean Instagram user announced plans to auction an NFT of the original photo featuring Achi, the Shiba Inu, adorned with a woven beanie. The user has consistently posted images of Achi wearing various woven clothing since the dog was a puppy, and they posted the iconic “Dogwifhat” photo in December 2018, nearly a year before it went viral. The user has been verified as Achi’s true parent.
The decision to partner with Feisty DAO, an online community experienced in purchasing and fractionalizing Shiba Inu-related NFTs on Ethereum, for the auction of the Achi NFT sparked discontent among some members of the WIF community and other Solana users. Despite public pleas from Achi’s owners to cease the criticism, complaints persisted, prompting the owners to defend their actions.
The previous attempt by Achi’s parents to collaborate with the Solana community resulted in disappointment when the ACHI meme coin project, backed by Achi’s parents, was allegedly rug-pulled shortly after launch. Consequently, Achi’s parents opted to partner with Feisty DAO for the NFT auction.
Although WIF community members expressed frustration over the lack of coordination with Achi’s owners for the NFT launch, little effort was made to engage with the dog’s family. While WIF’s market capitalization exceeds $3 billion, Achi’s parents’ NFT auction, based on the original photo that inspired WIF, has a current bid of approximately $182,000.
Path, the Feisty DAO member facilitating the NFT auction, expressed openness to re-minting the NFT on Solana if there is interest from the community. However, attempts to engage with the WIF community, including prominent members like Ansem, have yielded little response.