TikTok has been known to spark some weird trends and bizarre subcultures, but the latest one is creating millionaires. Oh no, wait—dabilllionaires. Same thing, right?
Sadly not. TikTok users are trading dabloons with one another in exchange for imaginary quests, usually handed out by mysterious cats, addressing you with polite, slightly medieval conversation.
If this isn’t making any sense to you, you’d be forgiven—it’s sprung up quickly and has escalated wildly, gaining over 500 million views at the time of writing. Here’s how to make sense of what on earth a dabloon is on TikTok and how you could become a dabillionaire.
What is a dabloon on TikTok?
Similar to the word doubloon (which refers to golden coins 16th-century Spain that were used as currency for centuries), dabloons have become a form of imaginary currency on TikTok. They may be fictional, but they are subject to real-world issues, with inflation starting to affect people’s dabloon savings.
Although dabloons have only recently taken off on TikTok, the origins of the currency date back to 2021, to a meme of a cat extending a paw with the caption “4 dabloons”. As these things usually go, the joke escalated to various pictures of cats appearing on TikTok FYPs all over the world, greeting people with a cheery “hello traveler” and offering them dabloons.
The standard exchange for a small item, like a flower or loaf of bread, is the standard four dabloons, but this can rise to much higher prices for more in-depth quests. One video, for example, offers a whole 20 dabloons in exchange for a quest to see a magic waterfall. What a deal!
What does a cat have to do with TikTok dabloons?
Although dabloons have grown past the original 4 dabloon cat, cats still play a prominent role in the growth of the currency on TikTok. Every slideshow of images taking you on a dabloon journey will be begun and ended with a cat, often appearing throughout the series of images to guide you on your way or offer you more dabloons.
Some TikTok users have also started to trade dabloons between themselves, even needing to set up spreadsheets to keep track of their imagined wealth. It’s worth noting here, however, that this currency is completely fictional. There’s no cryptocurrency attached to dabloons (yet) and no way to actually make money from these feline interactions.
(featured image: @official..dabloon..fbi / @tw.kiann / @bonesswiper on TikTok
