The creator's account of a stick-figure meme becoming mfers, a CC0 art collection built around community-made derivatives.
Why read Sartoshi?
Start with what are mfers to see how a familiar internet joke became a collection's visual language. Sartoshi traces the character to the are you winning son? meme, then explains the cigarette, computer posture and deliberately hand-drawn lines. His choice of CC0 lets others reuse the art; the essay connects that permission with a community creating its own projects rather than waiting for an assigned roadmap.
Read sartoshi_rip next for the creator's account of leaving and returning. The December 2022 essay announces the change from @sartoshi_nft to @sartoshi_rip and describes handing the mfers contract to a community multisig. It helps explain the difference between creating the original characters and directing every later project. This is his historical account of the handover, alongside plans for his own art community.
Start with the original
Selected work
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Essay ·
what are mfers
The creator explains the character's meme origins, the hand-drawn style and CC0 reuse. The passages on community projects show what he means by a collection without a prescribed roadmap.
Cite this selection
XFollowList, “what are mfers” reading notes in the Sartoshi profile. https://xfollowlist.com/people/sartoshi#work-50211b34414f
The linked work is the original source; this permalink identifies XFollowList’s reason to read it. Original work published .
Profile-source checking date and references · Dated reading map
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Essay ·
sartoshi_rip
His account of the June 2022 community handover and planned return under a new handle. It separates his role as the original artist from authority over later mfers projects.
Cite this selection
XFollowList, “sartoshi_rip” reading notes in the Sartoshi profile. https://xfollowlist.com/people/sartoshi#work-56ca58155098
The linked work is the original source; this permalink identifies XFollowList’s reason to read it. Original work published .
Profile-source checking date and references · Dated reading map
Projects & roles
mfers
The collection site linked in Sartoshi's origin essay, with artwork, marketplace and contract links. The essay explains his original art role.
end of sartoshi
His December 2022 essay describes this farewell artwork and his plans to use it as a pass for an art community.
Community rating
Sources & further reading
Profile sources checked . This describes checking these references, separately from the publication dates of selected works.
- An essay by Sartoshi documenting his authorship, the collection's origin and CC0 approach.
- The author explicitly connects the old @sartoshi_nft account to the announced @sartoshi_rip handle and gives his account of the handover.
- A March 29, 2024 post from @sartoshi_rip announcing mfercoin material confirms the handle was used after the planned return.
Cite this profile’s source check
XFollowList, Sartoshi profile sources. Sources checked 2026-10-11. https://xfollowlist.com/people/sartoshi#sources-checked