The NFT market has produced a new wave of digital creators, and one of the most striking examples is London-based 12-year-old programmer Benyamin Ahmed. His project, Weird Whales, is a collection of 3,350 pixelated whale NFTs. After the launch, Ahmed reportedly brought in around $350,000 worth of ether, and he projected that the total could rise to nearly $400,000.
Sales and royalties drove the earnings
According to the report, Ahmed’s income came not only from the initial mint and sale of the collection, but also from ongoing royalties in the secondary market. He receives 2.5% every time a Weird Whales NFT is resold. Those royalties had already added up to about 30 ETH, worth more than $95,000 at the time cited in the article. That structure gave the project continued earning potential beyond the primary launch.
A self-taught young developer
Ahmed began coding at the age of five and learned by watching his father work as a web developer. Over time, he picked up HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. Weird Whales was his second NFT effort after an earlier project called Minecraft Yee Haa. He said he became interested in NFTs earlier that year, especially because blockchain technology makes digital ownership easy to transfer and verify.
Low startup cost, long-term ETH conviction
One of the more notable details is how little capital was required to launch the project. Ahmed said the initial setup cost was only about $300 in ETH transaction fees. He also said he was not planning to convert his ether into fiat currency, preferring instead to keep the funds in a crypto wallet. In his view, digital wallets and blockchain addresses could eventually reduce the need for traditional bank accounts, though he acknowledged he may open one later for tax reporting.
Gaming roots and meme culture
Ahmed said he spent a great deal of time playing Minecraft, and that experience helped shape his creative output. He also argued that memes play an important role in the NFT sector, noting that many successful projects have some kind of meme connection that strengthens community engagement and visibility.
The Weird Whales story highlights how a small upfront investment, technical skills, and internet-native culture can turn into significant on-chain revenue. At the same time, it also underscores how closely NFT success is tied to market momentum and trading activity, factors that remain volatile over time.