Creator of Original Fartcoin Wakes Up to $400,000 in “Thank You” Money

Imagine waking up one morning to find $400,000 in your crypto wallet. That’s exactly what happened to former Google engineer Neel Rao recently.

Neel is the creator of the original Fartcoin, also known as FART (Flatulence and Respect Token), a memecoin that started as a humorous experiment. Back in January of 2018, Neel created FART as a personal project to learn Solidity, the programming language used for Ethereum smart contracts. The concept was absurdly funny yet simple: before FART, a “fart” (or flatulence) was entirely centralized to the person who created it. As the old saying goes, “He who smelt it, dealt it.” But Neel had a vision: by using Ethereum’s GAS fees, he declared that farting could be decentralized forever.

After its creation, FART remained dormant, locked in an Ethereum contract, and largely forgotten.

Fast forward almost 7 years to December 2024, and a new memecoin, also called Fartcoin, is suddenly trending among mainstream crypto traders with a market cap of $868 million. Enter crypto archaeologist “goatishduck,” who, after some research, discovered that this popular Fartcoin wasn’t the first of its name. Even more surprising, the new Fartcoin seems to have been developed by AI. In his analysis, “goatishduck” declared, “The original Fartcoin is superior to its contemporary counterpart,” and claims it isn’t even close.

Respecting the legacy of the original FART, a group of passionate crypto enthusiasts began buying it. Soon after, they created a liquidity pool on decentralized exchange, allowing FART to be traded for the first time.

As trading picked up, Neel, unknowingly at first, started benefiting from the activity. The trades generated roughly $400,000 worth of Ethereum for him, even though he didn’t hold any FART himself. That’s a pretty generous “thank you” for something he created almost seven years ago!

How Did Neel Earn $400,000?

The Ethereum smart contract for FART works in a straightforward way: if someone sends 1 ETH to the coin’s address, the contract automatically sends back 10,000 FART. Because Neel created the coin, he holds the private keys to its contract.

In practice, when someone sends ETH to the coin’s address, they receive FART, and the ETH is stored in the contract. Neel can withdraw this ETH later. What’s fascinating is how Neel discovered his unexpected windfall. It was a post on X that alerted him to check his Ethereum address, revealing over 100 ETH waiting for him.

Instead of cashing out and walking away, Neel decided to revive his project. He launched a Discord channel to gather community input on FART’s future and pledged to restore the original FART website.

Man vs. Machine in the Crypto World

The story doesn’t end there. The new AI-created Fartcoin has started a broader discussions in the crypto space. While some mainstream traders are simply looking for quick profits, the “OG” FART community—affectionately calling themselves “old farts”—has turned the situation into a debate about man versus machine.

It’s certainly impressive that an AI could create a successful memecoin, but it raises questions. Why didn’t the AI recognize that a Fartcoin already existed? Was this an accidental oversight, or a deliberate attempt to copy?

So, what’s your preference? On one side, there’s the AI-created Fartcoin, drawing attention for its technology and market hype. On the other, we have the original FART, crafted by a passionate programmer and supported by an energetic and dedicated community that values creativity and humor.

Additional information

FART (2018)

Fartcoin (2014)