12-year-old makes Rp5.7 billion creating “Weird Whales” NFTs

12-year-old Benyamin Ahmed made almost $400,000 or around Rp5.7 billion from minting his pixelated artwork “Weird Whales” during the summer holidays. 

The Londoner decided to keep his earnings in Ethereum, the crypto currency in which his art was sold, for the time being. It means that his wealth is subject to the rise and fall of the cryptocurrency. Also, if anything were to happen with his earnings, he could not seek help from the authorities. By keeping his money in Ethereum, he does not need to file a tax return.

What used to be a mere hobby for him has now become something more serious. He told BBC that one cannot cram coding skills, that is why he has been practicing every single day. 

“Weird Whales” is Benyamin’s second NFT series after a Minecraft-inspired set that did not fare well. The collection is inspired by a popular pixelated whale meme, but he produced everything using his own programme. Imran, Benyamin’s father, is confident that his son did not violate any copyright law. In the process, they also consulted a lawyer to oversee and learn how to trademark his designs.

Benyamin is currently working on his third set which is inspired by superheroes. He also expressed his interest to make an “underwater game” featuring his whales.