In late 2019, an unexpected meme captured the internet's heart: Taylor Armstrong, a reality TV star, and Smudge, a perplexed white cat.

Bids for the Nyan Cat started at 3 Ether (ETH) or about $1,544.38 and closed at 300 ETH — about $590,000 at the time of the sale. The majority of crypto art platforms use Ethereum as means of ...