When we think about NFTs, we mostly associate them with common NFT-integrated blockchains such as those from Ethereum, Solana, etc.
But what if that were to change? What if the number one cryptocurrency joins the competition as well?
As the trend rises, degens continue to attract more hype as Bitcoin introduces its first potential blue-chip project – Ordinal Punks NFT.
THE ALPHA
An Ordinal Punk NFT, Punk 94, was sold for an initial all-time high of 9.5 BTC last Wednesday according to a sales bot tweet.
Its BTC price approximately adds up to $207,280.50 at the time of writing, a huge deal for big-time collectors worldwide.
Moreover, other tweets also indicated several successful transactions of its sister NFTs amounting to a price range of 2 to 6 Bitcoins.
Due to its strong consistent purchases, the project recently sold out its collection of 100 NFTs earlier this month.
Confirmed sale on Punk 94 from <@803974208190939186> to <@804609596601139221> for 9.5 BTC https://t.co/xGAxBWWq9n
— Ordinal Punk Sales (@OrdinalPunkSale) February 9, 2023
ABOUT ORDINALS NFT PROJECT
The project shows a resemblance to Yuga Labs’ CryptoPunks Collection, as both depict a retro pixel-inspired art style.
But unlike the latter, Ordinals NFT only has a collection of 100 NFTs, which makes it rarer and more valuable.
Left: Ordinal Punks, minted this week on BTC
Right: Mutant Punks, minted last year on ETHlol pic.twitter.com/5LwDYoDelj
— Sean Bonner (@seanbonner) February 7, 2023
Aside from that, minting its NFTs also comes with a unique approach rather than the traditional NFT sales.
Instead of purchasing through Opensea, Magic Eden, or other marketplaces, they can buy and sell these NFTs between Bitcoin node operators that involve the founder’s actions during its process.
“It requires running a full node in order to transfer one from one wallet to another and buy one. So people are using Escrow services. Basically, sending the money to the founder of the project, who then gets the Ordinal, doing deals that way,” said PROOF Collective’s Director of Research
THE CORE BEHIND ORDINALS NFT
Ordinals Protocol, the team behind the project, uses Bitcoin’s Taproot Upgrade to mint its existing NFTs.
Bitcoin’s Taproot Upgrade serves as an innovative update to effectively make the network more secure, facilitate transactions faster, and extend its block sizes above the typical limit of 1MB.
With its functions, the upgrade stores these NFTs through the process of an inscription on one bitcoin.
Basically, it inscribes the NFTs’ data in satoshis or sats, which will then represent as one hundred millionth part of a bitcoin.
CONTROVERSIES IN BITCOIN-ORDINALS TANDEM
There’s been an ongoing debate circulating the community as NFTs are not supposedly backed up by Bitcoin.
Some argue that implementing this service might increase transaction fees over time and that Bitcoin should only limit itself to financial transactions.
The biggest NFT scam of all time?
Unless you've been living under a rock the last week, you've probably heard about Ordinals
Here's why you should be EXTREMELY careful about this, and why your favorite influencer might not have your best interest in mind 🧵👇
(1/10) pic.twitter.com/yGFrbfStwz
— TheNorwegian 💎 (@TheNorwegianNFT) February 9, 2023
While others also became optimistic about the build-out as it indicates further possible developments and improvements around the blockchain.
“In the long term, if demand for these inscriptions proves to be long lasting, there is a risk that these inscriptions could impact other Bitcoin use cases like payments via the Lightning Network due to distorting Bitcoin’s fee market away from its use as an open monetary protocol,” said Sam Callahan, a Bitcoin analyst at financial services company Swan Bitcoin, in an interview with CoinDesk.
CONCLUSION
We’re curious about Bitcoin’s roadmap considering its sudden adoption of NFTs in the blockchain.
It’s been a long time since there have been major developments around the leading cryptocurrency.
What do you think about this update?
