Key Takeaways

• Ellen DeGeneres auctioned a piece of digital art, titled “Woman With a Stick Cat,” for $14,555 today.
• Proceeds from the auction and other related sales went to the disaster relief charity World Central Kitchen.
• Meanwhile, Shark Tank host Mark Cuban appeared on Ellen’s talk show to discuss cryptocurrencies, NFTs, and Dogecoin.

Comedian and talk show host Ellen DeGeneres has moved into cryptocurrency. Today, she auctioned off a piece of NFT artwork and discussed Dogecoin with guest Mark Cuban.
Woman With a Stick Cat
DeGeneres’ NFT token features a drawing called “Woman With a Stick Cat” which she presented on a recent episode of Ellen.

The NFT has now been auctioned on the crypto collectible marketplace Bitski. The one-of-a-kind “platinum” version sold for $14,555. That version of the token includes not just her artwork, but also the monologue display above.
DeGeneres also sold 64 digital copies of the tokenized art sans monologue as part of a “silver” package for $100 each. Six copies of the “gold” package are still available for $2,500 each; that version contains the digital token along with a printed version of her art.

DeGeneres chose to draw a cat based on the success of the Cryptokitties line of NFTs. Though she obviously put minimal effort into her drawing, the auction is for a good cause: proceeds will go to World Central Kitchen, a natural disaster relief charity.
Mark Cuban Recommends Dogecoin
Meanwhile, Shark Tank host and Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban appeared on Ellen to discuss cryptocurrency and NFTs.
“The thing about NFTs is that they’re just digital collectibles,” he explained. “If you think about everything about everything on your phone that you value, particularly younger kids…their most valuable possessions are things on their phones. An NFT is just a digital collectible that you can buy, hold, or sell like any other collectible.”
He also discussed cryptocurrencies with a focus on Dogecoin. “[Dogecoin] went from being a cryptocurrency joke to being a digital currency,” he explained, noting that the Dallas Mavericks store began to sell merchandise for Dogecoin in March.

He recommended that DeGeneres accept Dogecoin on her online store. Though she did not comment on the possibility of accepting crypto, she added on Twitter: “I’m still not sure I understand it, or know how to pronounce it, but it sure is fun to say.”
Previously, a 2018 episode featured Ashton Kutcher discussing the XRP cryptocurrency. He donated $4 million of XRP to the Ellen DeGeneres Wildlife Fund during his appearance.
Disclaimer: At the time of writing this author held less than $75 of Bitcoin, Ethereum, and altcoins.