The iconic Charlie bit my finger video was auctioned off as an NFT for close to $800,000, and this might be your last chance to watch it.
It’s a dark day for the internet. If you had access to the internet in 2007, it would have been a challenge not to come across the iconic video of Charlie biting his brother’s finger.
Since it’s upload over 13 years ago, the video has been watched over 880 million times.
If you’re looking to rewatch the comforting, nostalgic youtube video, you better hurry before it gets taken down.
The video was sold as an NFT on Saturday for $760,999 and will be deleted off YouTube to create scarcity.
NFT stands for Non-Fungible-Token, and describes a unit of data stored in a blockchain which can be certified as original and unique.
NFTs allow for ownership of a unit of data, as the authenticated original version can be bought and sold. They may be in the form of a video, music, a photograph or even a GIF.
Recent examples of NFT auctions include the iconic Fleetwood Mac longboarder TikTok and Grimes’ audio artworks.
The Davies-Carr family, who own and originally uploaded the video, recently spoke to TIME about their decision to auction it off.
Howard Davies-Carr, the father of Charlie and his brother Harry, said that he feels it is time to embrace the changes happening in YouTube and ownership of a digital asset.
“YouTube is always changing. The relationship we have with YouTube has changed,” he stated.
Moreover, he highlighted that although we might think a viral video will stick around forever on YouTube: “it might not… they [YouTube] may change their terms and conditions in a year’s time, where actually uploaded, user-generated content is not important to them anymore”.
I downloaded the Charlie bit my finger video where is your God now big scary NFT man.
— Mutahar (@OrdinaryGamers) May 22, 2021
Charlie and Harry are now 15 and 17, and distanced from the video which went “unintentionally viral”.
Harry, and his finger, plans to study engineering after he graduates from High School.
Despite auctioning off the video, the family will never be completely rid of it.
At 880 million views, the video has been watched more times than the worldwide streaming of the 1969 Apollo 11 moon landing, which reached an estimated 650 million viewers.
Moreover, the Davies-Carr family’s YouTube channel will keep up the rest of their 56 videos, including Charlie’s Head Boy Speech and Out Greek Holiday 2012.
