“The Smiling Disaster Girl” Zoë Roth sold her original photo for nearly $500,000 as a non-fungible token (NFT) at an auction in 2021

In January 2005, Zoë Roth and her father Dave went to see a controlled burn – a fire intentionally started to clear a property – in their neighbourhood in Mebane, North Carolina.

Mr Roth, an amateur photographer, took a photo of his daughter smiling mischievously in front of the blaze.

After winning a photography prize in 2008, the image went viral when it was posted online.

Ms Roth has sold the original copy of her meme as a NFT for 180 Ethereum, a form of cryptocurrency, to a collector called @3FMusic.

The NFT is marked with a code that will allow the Roths – who have said they will split the profit – to keep the copyright and receive 10% of profits from future sales.

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