From January 1st, 2024, the first Mickey Mouse has become public domain, a good opportunity to launch the first memecoin inspired by Mickey Mouse (MICKEY).
Mickey Mouse no longer protected by copyright and the launch of the first memecoin inspired by Mickey Mouse
The news that the famous first Mickey Mouse cartoon (or Topolino) is now in the public domain, couldn’t help but also stir up the crypto community.
And indeed, in this 2024, it has already been launched The Mickey Token (MICKEY), the first memecoin, inspired by the famous character of Steamboat Willie, the first Mickey Mouse cartoon released on screens in 1928.
MICKEY is a memecoin ERC-20 token, which means it is based on Ethereum standards, and it is so new that its market cap is still a tiny $6,500.
On the official website, its creation is described as a historic moment, along with the following details:
“Topolino is the first significant cartoon in the world and since then no cartoon or other fictional character has withstood the test of time longer. Topolino is and will always be a timeless cultural icon. Memecoins have become a digital reflection of culture.”
The launch of The Mickey token not only marks its transition to the public domain, but also the beginning of a new adventure into the unknown. Mickey now belongs to everyone. He is one of us.”
Currently, the website also shows that the total supply is 192.8 billion MICKEY and that the memecoin is a token with no other utility. Furthermore, MICKEY does not have any affiliation with other Mickey Mouse cartoons, except for its first version which has become public domain.
Mickey Mouse without copyright and the first Ethereum-based memecoin
The US copyright laws allow for the rights to characters to be held for 95 years. Steamboat Willie was the first appearance of the iconic cartoon mouse, in a 1928 American animated short film directed by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks.
Despite the fact that the 1928 version of Mickey Mouse is now in the public domain, Disney has stated that “we will continue to protect our rights over the more modern versions of Mickey Mouse and other works that remain subject to copyright”.
This means that the memecoin The Mickey (MICKEY) will be nothing more than the classic joking crypto, in the style of Dogecoin and Pepe Coin.
Not only that, seizing the moment of the public domain of the first Mickey Mouse as the character of Steamboat Willie from 1928, it seems that the NFT version has also arrived.
Steamboat Willie just became Public Domain at midnight.
I set up a @manifoldxyz mint for the original image of him.
It’s a collection with a supply of 2,000 and price of .001 ETH (~$2). If it doesn’t mint out it closes in 24 hours.
The first mint was at exactly midnight, the… pic.twitter.com/KmIqgxR6hh
— Alexander Taub (
) (@ajt) January 1, 2024
“Steamboat Willie has just entered the public domain at midnight.
I created a @manifoldxyz for its original image. It is a collection with a supply of 2,000 and a price of .001 ETH (~$2). If it is not minted, it will close in 24 hours.
The first coinage occurred exactly at midnight, the first moment in which this character became public domain.
I think this is a great opportunity to own a piece of real history. Happy New Year!”
This is an experiment for a collection of 2000 NFTs that, if not minted within 24 hours, would immediately close.
The main memecoins in 2024: Dogecoin, PEPE and Bonk
2024 started with the same ranking of the main memecoins at the end of 2023, with Dogecoin leading in market capitalization, followed by Shiba Inu, Bonk, and Pepe Coin.
Who seems to be recording better performances in the last 24 hours is Bonk, who, also riding the current Bitcoin bull run, seems to be experiencing a price pump of +7.8%.
Even the other memecoins show green candles but not at the levels of Bonk. In fact, the last 24 hours have seen DOGE +3.19%, SHIB 3.71%, and PEPE +6%.
In mid-December, we wondered if memecoins were still funny, since their creation usually serves to lift the spirits of crypto traders. And indeed, Dogecoin was the first meme doggy to arrive in the crypto-community, which even found support from Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla and SpaceX.
PEPE has turned out to be the most overrated, as it was only inspired by Pepe The Frog but without a direct connection, doubts about its future had arisen since August 2023.
BONK, the first memecoin on the Solana blockchain, seems to have truly achieved its goal, lifting the spirits of the community on its main blockchain. In fact, the growth in terms of BONK’s market cap has been faster than many other memecoins.
Who knows if MICKEY will be able to conquer the crypto market at the levels of these main memecoins.
