The hilarious 'Charlie Bit My Finger' video will no longer be removed from YouTube as feared, after it was sold to a buyer who vowed to keep it online so that the masses can 'continue enjoying' it.
The legendary viral clip - which starred three-year-old Harry Davies-Carr and his one-year-old baby brother Charlie - was auctioned off as a Non-Fungible Token (NFT) on Saturday for around £536,000 ($761,000), having been unlisted from YouTube on 23 May.
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However, despite concerns that the video would be removed from the internet forever, it turns out that the seller recognises its cultural significance and has decided to keep it on YouTube - where it has racked up 885 million views since it was first uploaded back in 2007.
Howard Davies-Carr, the father of the video's two stars, told Quartz: "After the auction we connected with the buyer, who ended up deciding to keep the video on YouTube.
"The buyer felt that the video is an important part of popular culture and shouldn't be taken down.
"It will now live on YouTube for the masses to continue enjoying as well as memorialized as an NFT on the blockchain."
Davies-Carr said it was heartening that the buyer - who goes by the name of 3fmusic and appears to be a music studio in Dubai - and the public understand the value of the content, and confirmed the clip will remain on YouTube.
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He added that the family wanted to be early to NFTs, which are digital assets that represent real-world objects like art and music, just as they had been with YouTube.
Davies-Carr continued: "After 14 years on YouTube through its many iterations, we did feel that NFTs would breathe new life into this piece of internet history.
"I've always told my boys that beyond this fame, they are more than just the video."
He added that the money raised from the sale will mostly go towards his sons' university fund, but will also donated part of the sum to 'carbon offset charities to offset some of the costs in mining'.
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"I have dabbled in mining but only when I have excess power being generated from my solar panels," he said.
"This is something Harry and Charlie feel very passionately about, and they will be the next custodians of the planet."
Featured Image Credit: YouTube/Davies-Carr family
Topics: Viral, News, Technology, YouTube