$400,000 for NFT: Schoolboy on Holiday Drew and Sold Pixel Whales

He is already working on a series of drawings about superheroes.

A schoolboy from Britain, Binyamin Ahmed, earned well during his summer holidays. He drew a series of pixel drawings called “Strange Whales” and sold a digital certificate for them for $387,500. 

An NFT (non-fungible token, or digital certificate) has only collectible and sentimental value. Its owner does not hold copyright to the internet object for the purpose of earning income, but can only proudly call themselves its owner. 

Buying an NFT is often compared to purchasing celebrity autographs. Binyamin Ahmed keeps his earnings in the cryptocurrency Ethereum, in which he was paid for the digital certificate. He has no traditional bank account. 

The hobby became a source of income

The teenager's classmates do not yet know about his big earnings. Previously he posted videos about his hobby on YouTube. Ahmed is passionate not only about drawing, but also about swimming, badminton and taekwondo. 

Binyamin Ahmed

My advice to all children is simply to do what you like and not listen to your elders. Love cooking — cook, love dancing — dance, and strive for the best result your abilities allow. 

The schoolboy's father, Imran Ahmed, works as a computer software developer. He got his son and his brother Yusuf interested in programming when they were only five and six years old. The brothers consulted adult specialists, and their father is very proud of them. 

“For them it was a game, but I noticed long ago that they are very talented at programming and understand it beyond their years. Of course, it is impossible to drum knowledge into children's heads and make them master the science in just three months,” said Imran. 

The boys practice programming for 20-30 minutes a day, even during holidays. 

Series of whale drawings

“Strange Whales” is already the second series of internet drawings created by Binyamin. The previous one was based on the computer game Minecraft and sold much worse. 

The schoolboy was inspired by a popular digital image of a whale. He worked in a common internet drawing style, but used his own developed program. The result was 3,350 pixel whales. 

The teenager said: “It was very interesting to watch them slowly form on my monitor screen, as if hatching from an egg.” Today Binyamin is working on a third series of drawings dedicated to superheroes. 

The boy plans to create an “underwater game” with whales. His father consulted lawyers. He is 100% certain that his son did not violate copyright law. Imran has already started thinking about a trademark for Binyamin's creative work. 

The world is divided in its attitude toward NFTs. Some consider them a useful additional source of income for creative people. Doubts arise because of the sky-high prices of some tokens and their reliability. 

Charles Olsop
former Christie's auctioneer

Buying something that does not really exist seems strange to me. In my view, those who invest in digital certificates are a bit of suckers. I hope they do not lose their money.