Taking selfies might just be one random, ordinary activity, especially for university students. But for one of these students, this run-of-the-mill thing has brought immense instant fortune.
Sultan Gustaf Al Ghozali, a 22-year-old computer science student from Semarang in Central Java, Indonesia, became an instant crypto millionaire from the sale of non-fungible token (NFT) versions of his everyday selfies over the years, which he uploaded to the OpenSea platform, Cointelegraph reported.
Blockbuster Ghozali Everyday NFT Originally Intended as Timelapse Video
Ghozali had converted and sold around 1,000 of his selfies as NFTs. These Ghozali NFT selfies, he said, were taken in the last five years, starting when he was 18 to when he turned 22, as he documented his graduation journey.
He had intended to use this album of 1,000 pictures to create a timelapse video that would mark his upcoming graduation. Ghozali then realized he could use his collection for another purpose after he got to learn more about the crypto space and blockchain technology, wherein NFTs are lucrative items to market.
These selfies showed a stoic Ghozali sitting or standing in front of his PC, and these he converted into NFTs and uploaded to OpenSea last December.
Ghozali actually never took the sale of his selfies as NFTs seriously, saying he thought "it might be funny if one of the collectors collected my face." He added he never considered anybody would be interested in buying the selfies, as he pegged the price for each selfie at "only $3."
After converting the selfies and placing them on the NFT marketplace, Ghozali had first not gotten that much attention from buyers until an Indonesian celebrity chef saw his OpenSea profile and promoted it, Vice noted in a report. This was when sales and demand for Ghozali's NFT offering blew up as prominent members of the Crypto Twitter community voiced their support by buying and marketing the selfies.
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Ghozali NFTs Reach Trade Volume of 317 ETH or More Than $1 Million
Ghozali's NFTs then reached an accumulated trade volume of 317 Ether, the Ethereum blockchain token, which is equivalent to more than $1 million. On Friday, Ghozali's selfies were reportedly selling for 0.247 ETH or around $806 each.
They had been sold at a high of 0.9 ETH or around $3,000 each, with Ghozali further earnings from secondary sale royalties that reached up to $103,620 from those who are selling on his NFTs.
These NFTs are non-interchangeable units of data stored on a blockchain, making them unique, one-of-a-kind and thereby valuable. These NFTs could be anything from music to drawings, but are usually digital art, which could sell for millions of dollars.
As he insanely monetized from his images that showed him emotionless, Ghozali pleaded to buyers not to "abuse my photos or my parents will (be) very disappointed in me." He trusted buyers of his NFTs will "take care of my photos."
What added to the rarity of the photos in the NFT marketplace was that Ghozali had provided some back stories with the selfies.
After this incredible windfall, Ghozali said he does not intend to sell more photos of his million-dollar face.
With his earnings, Ghozali said he is planning to invest it to fulfill a lifelong dream of opening an animation studio. But another good consequence for the once simple everyday Indonesian student was that he now turned into an instant social media star, amassing over 16,000 followers on Twitter.
