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NFTs had a frenzy in 2021, with sales surging to $25 billion, prompting a Dallas software developer to use the cash grab to wipe away millions in debt for lower-income families.
The medical debt project took form last fall in the way a lot do in the crypto space — through a group chat, which Joshua Lapidus started with blockchain experts he knew. They landed on a unique theme for their non-fungible tokens — toilet paper — to poke fun at how people were buying anything if it was an NFT. About 70% of the funds would go to charity.
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The project dubbed Rainbow Rolls launched in October with 10,000 toilet paper NFTs for sale. The limit was later dropped to 1,000 rolls; so far, about 855 rolls have been bought through word of mouth.
Rainbow Rolls donated 20% of its sales, or $91,000, to New York-based RIP Medical Debt, which then used it to wipe out over $7 million in medical debt by buying debt in bundled portfolios.
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Click here to learn more about the Rainbow Rolls NFT and how they used proceeds to wipe out medical debt for lower-income families from our partners at the Dallas Morning News.