NFTs have been all the rage for about a year now, and in 2021, they drove quite a bit of revenue. Around $25 billion worth of these digital tokens were sold last year. Throughout the past year, we’ve watched as several NFT projects resulted in positive news for charities, social justice, and the environment. 

Now, one collection, launched as a joke, is making a big change. 

Dallas Software Developer Helps Wipe Out Debt

Joshua Lapidus is a tech worker at Opolis, a company that helps manage health benefits and payroll for independent workers. However, in his free time, he launched an NFT project known as Rainbow Rolls, a collection of non-fungible tokens featuring colorful roles of toilet paper. 

At first, the project was launched as a joke, but it quickly became an important project in the community. 

As the money started pouring in, Lapidus began using it to help fund charities, giving away about 70% of his profits. 

One of the largest donations made was 20% of sales, which worked out to $91,000. This donation was given to a New York-based charity known as RIP Medical Debt, a charity that helps to wipe out medical debt for low-income families. According to various reports, the $91,000 received was used to settle $7 million in medical debt by buying debt in bundled portfolios. 

Rainbow Rolls also donated about 16.5% of money earned to Gitcoin. The Gitcoin charity helps to fund community projects in the blockchain-driven Web 3.0 industry. Another 16.5% was also given to Giveth, a charity that funds projects for the social betterment of the world. 

What Exactly Are Rainbow Rolls?

The Rainbow Rolls collection originally featured 10,000 toilet paper NFTs. However, in an effort to increase scarcity and provide price support, the limit was dropped to 1,000 rolls plus additional rolls that will be sold in the week after the 1,000 sell out based on demand. To date, about 850 rolls have been sold. 

Key Commentary

In a statement, Lapidus, the artist behind Rainbow Rolls, had the following to offer:

“We were making jokes about how bad the landscape was, with people selling anything to make money. And we thought we should have people buy our thing and give some to charity.”

Michael Lewellen, a protocol security advisor out of California, said:

“People who bought rolls didn’t care about the art itself.

It was about making an impact on someone’s life in a meaningful way — the same reason you contribute to any charity.”

Finally, Scott Patton, a member of the RIP Medical Debt executive team, had the following to offer:

“I think it struck a chord with people because if you get a serious illness, it harms not just your physical body but your financial being as well. Everyone in America is aware that even with insurance and a good living, you may be insulated a little but you are still vulnerable.”

The Bottom Line

The bottom line here is simple. NFTs are being used to bring good to the world in several ways. While Rainbow Rolls was launched as a joke, there’s nothing funny about the good the project is doing in the NFT community and across the country!