Stoner Cats

Stoner Cats is the name for both a non-fungible token (NFTs) project and its accompanying animated web series. The creators of the series are Sarah Cole, Chris Cartagena, and Ash Brannon. The project had celebrity backing, starting with Orchard Farm Productions, a production company led by actress Mila Kunis. Other celebrities who participated in the web series creation included Ashton Kutcher, Chris Rock, Dax Shepard, and Seth MacFarlane.

The parties responsible for producing the Stoner Cats web series set up a system where viewers could only gain access to the web series by purchasing an NFT from the Stoner Cats collection. Upon purchasing an NFT, the user could view episodes in the animated series, which was composed of episodes that are approximately five minutes long. The money that was earned through the sale of the NFTs was also leveraged to fund future episodes of the series.

Stoner Cats Teaser

The Stoner Cats NFT collection was minted, launched, and sold by Stoner Cats 2, LLC (SC2) on July 27, 2021, with 10,420 NFTs available for purchase at the price of .35 ETH (approximately $784 USD at the time of the sale). The collection sold out in approximately 40 minutes, generating more than $8 million. Each of the 10,420 NFTs was a digital cat with a unique combination of attributes, such as different accessories, fur color, and background color.

The collection was launched by Mila Kunis in partnership with other cryptocurrency and NFT experts, including CryptoKitties cofounder Mack Flavelle, CryptoPoops NFT creator Jonathan Howard, and others through their studio venture, Big Head Club.

Seven episodes of the Stoner Cats series were released between 2021-2022. Viewers who had purchased an NFT from the Stoner Cats NFT collection can access episodes on the decentralized hosting and archiving service Arweave.

The plot of the series is set in the home of a woman (Mrs. Stoner) who is using medical marijuana to alleviate her early Alzheimer's symptoms. She has six housecats that she accidentally exposes to fumes from her medical marijuana when a box of it fell into the fireplace and started to burn, creating a cloud of smoke. The cats then start experiencing heightened feelings and intelligence, and each episode is about how the cats are navigating this newfound intelligence while also protecting Mrs. Stoner from precarious situations.

In September 2023, the company behind the Stoner Cats series (SC2) was fined $1 million by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The SEC stated that the Stoner Cats NFTs were unregistered securities as SC2 strongly suggested that the NFTs would have a significant return on investment when the holder resells them on secondary markets.

SC2 also agreed to a cease-and-desist order for the sale of the Stoner Cats NFTs and to destroy all those that are in the company's possession. SC2 also agreed to create a fair fund to refund injured investors.

There were two commissioners from the SEC that dissented from the charges against SC2. In the dissent statement, the commissioners stated that NFTs sold by SC2 are collectibles, similar to those that have been sold in connection with other entertainment media, such as Star Wars. The commissioners also stated that the harsh penalties that SC2 is facing could discourage other content creators and artists from creating due to the fear of penalties for their efforts to build a fan base and distribute content.