Exclusive: Colorado Governor Jared Polis fundraises with NFTs

Lefty meme warriors assemble: Gov. Jared Polis of Colorado has an NFT to sell you.

Driving the news: For the mile-high price of $52.80 (corresponding to the elevation of Denver in feet), you can buy one of 2,022 digital tokens featuring a pair of sneakers, a green chili pepper, rainbow-colored mountains — and Polis' dog Gia, who's firing lasers from her eyes.

Why it matters: Polis is the most high-profile politician yet to get into fundraising via NFTs.

How it works: The NFT is essentially a digital souvenir that Polis is giving out in exchange for donations. Supporters can show off their collections and link to them as evidence of how early they supported any given candidate.

• Donors can pay with dollars via credit card. The NFTs live on the Flow blockchain, which is ecologically friendly. (It's the same chain used by NBA TopShot.)
• For the time being, the NFTs can only be bought and not sold. That may eventually change, but it would rather defeat the purpose of spending money on a politician's NFT if the money doesn't go to the politician.

Polis' NFTs will act as tickets to get donors into events, Brian Forde, CEO of Democratic fundraiser Numero, tells Axios.

• This one gets you into an event where Polis will explain the meanings of the Easter eggs in the image.

What they're saying: "Nothing has changed with grassroots fundraising over the past 10 years," says Forde. "We’re giving campaigns a new tool. It’s more engaging, fun, and social."