Images: OpenSea
The market for NFTs is exploding, and new blockchain collectibles are being added to digital marketplaces every day. As it turns out, a decent amount of them feature Adolf Hitler. OpenSea, a major peer-to-peer marketplace for NFTs, says in its terms of service that it will host "controversial" NFTs in the name of "openness," but many of the Hitler-themed NFTs for sale stretch even that generous designation. One collection that a Twitter user pointed out and went viral features cartoon portraits of Hitler in various getups, and has netted thousands of dollars in sales and tens of thousands of “likes” on OpenSea. The collection describes Hitler as "the main antihero of humanity of all times" in its bio, antihero being a term typically reserved for flawed but nonetheless beloved protagonists in fiction, not architects of genocide. It doesn't stop there. The verified Ethereum Name Service (ENS) collection, which allows buyers to purchase a domain name for their cryptocurrency wallet, also features Hitler-themed NFTs. One ENS domain on OpenSea is called "hitlerdidnothingwrong.eth," another simply "hitler.eth," and one features the name along with swastikas. The verified Marble Cards collection, which tokenizes webpages seemingly indiscriminately, contains numerous NFTs that are simply portraits of Hitler and his name, even if the image is pulled from, say, the TIME cover store.Beyond verified collections, there is a large underbelly of Hitler-themed NFTs listed on OpenSea, even if they haven't made any sales. There are portraits for Hitler for sale, Hitler pepes, entire Nazi-themed NFT collections, including one simply called "heil hitler." Motherboard reached OpenSea with examples and seeking comment on its policies and and any proactive measures it takes to seek out Hitler- or Nazi-glorifying content on its marketplace (you would think that something called "heil hitler" would stick out). While the site's terms of service say it will host controversial content, they also say that "inappropriate" NFTs may be removed and "we carefully consider the complete situation and all its details in light of our policies before deciding to remove inappropriate assets, listings, smart contracts, and collections when we discover them or they're brought to our attention."OpenSea didn't immediately respond to Motherboard's request for comment.