A young Argentine who moved to Germany and started life anew working as a delivery driver and earning barely enough has reportedly made millions from the sale of his NFT collection.
Yon Frula, 25, from Argentina, moved to Berlin, Germany’s capital in 2019 in search of better working opportunities.
The young lad entered the country with a Working Holiday Visa and quickly began to work for a food delivery service.
He barely made GBP 1,000 delivering food during the COVID lockdowns in the country, just enough to survive.
However, Yon was content with the flexibility of his job.
The young lad was also an artist, creating unique cartoon-inspired illustrations.
In Europe’s art capital, with over 20,000 artists and over 200 museums and art galleries, Yon also was able to gather inspiration while working from numerous murals and drawings spread across the city streets.
He told local media: “It was the easiest option for me. This was also the best way for me to get to know the city, to see all sorts of corners, which I really liked. I also wanted a casual job that I could schedule myself. That way I could concentrate on my art on the side.”
In the second half of 2020, Yon returned to Argentina after his visa had expired and proceeded to sell his art as non-fungible tokens (NFTs) on the blockchain marketplace.
NFTs are unique works of art that can only be attributed to one person, they serve a multiple variety of purposes from purchase to access to specific benefits or services.
Yon’s colorful cartoon and oftentimes psychedelic style of drawing quickly caught the attention of many collectors.
He also believes that due to the rising popularity of NFTs during 2020, he was able to make a hefty buck from the sale of his art.
He told local media: “I got in very early, there weren’t that many people bustling around in the shop.”
“I think my art stands out because of the psychedelic and colorful style inspired by the Simpsons and early Disney stuff.”
Yon claims that his artwork has made him a fortune in revenue.
“My art project PEACEVOID, through which I released PEACEFUL GROUPIES, made about 2 million. On the secondary market, they have been traded for about 12,000 Ethereum (a cryptocurrency, editor’s note), which has also brought us over 2 million US dollars (GBP 1,6 million) in royalties.”
Yon is currently residing in Argentina but frequently returns to Berlin.