NFTs dawn on Bitcoin: The top 7 most exciting Ordinals inscriptions
When Bitcoin first came to light, it gave several projects the highway to speed up the relevancy of blockchain technology. However, while other networks scaled themselves to adopt developments like NFTs, daddy Bitcoin was somewhat left behind. Nonetheless, with the introduction of Ordinals, the blockchain is ready to reinforce its position as the number 1 coin by market cap.
Ordinals, exciting as the sound, have made an impression among the crypto community. So what’s the fuss all about? We will discuss the top 10 most intriguing Bitcoin Ordinal NFT projects. But before we jump into the must-see list, let’s see what these captivating digital assets are.
Bitcoin Ordinals: The NFTs community’s latest talk
Ordinals is a protocol leveraging the Bitcoin network, which has created a way for creators to craft and store digital artwork on the blockchain. The protocol has helped develop Bitcoin into a blockchain that can mint NFTs.
Ordinals came into the crypto ecosystem’s picture in 2022 after creator Casey Rodarmor finally inscribed a digital image into the Bitcoin network. The inscription occurred on December 14, 2022, an event dubbed the Genesis inscription.
Through Bitcoin’s Taproot Upgrade and the introduction of the Ordinals protocol, the network can now sustainably harbor NFTs. So simply put, Ordinal inscriptions are NFTs on the Bitcoin blockchain. And currently, there are 100K+ Ordinals minted on the network. They present an interesting journey for Bitcoin stans, although the community hasn’t yet been convinced about NFTs on the blockchain.
So here are 7 exciting “ones to watch” Ordinal projects:
- Ordinal Punks
Coming first in the list is the Bitcoin on-chain Profile Picture(PFP) NFT Ordinal Punks. And if you think whether the idea behind these NFTs comes from CryptoPunks, you are probably right. Ordinal Punks were launched in Feb. 2023.
According to the NFT’s dedicated webpage, Ordinal Punks stem from an ideology dubbed the Ordinal Theory. Interestingly, the Ordinal Theory talks about how to give Satoshis( the smallest unit of a bitcoin) unique identities. The theory shows how you can transfer, track, and give a satoshi meaning, which translates to creating NFTs on the Bitcoin network.
Ordinal Punks have a supply of 100 NFTs minted within the first 650 Ordinal inscriptions. Being a PFP NFT, these assets come in 192 x 192-pixel images created via an open-source algorithm. Bids and inquiries of the Punks take place via a spreadsheet. Sales occur in an “over-the-counter (OTC) method where an escrow oversees all trades.
They are currently sold out.
Per the spreadsheet, the floor price at the time of writing for an Ordinal Punk NFT(Punk 34) is about 4.9 BTC($116.3K). The most expensive Ordinal Punk NFT(Punk 94) sold for 9.5 BTC($231.8K), which should give you an idea of how much value these artworks carry.
- Ordinal Birds
Second on the radar is “Moonbirds NFT CC0 license approved” Ordinal Birds, who also have a limited supply of 100. The first digital artwork in the Ordinal Bird collection came at inscription number 2,728.
Last Year, Moonbirds NFT founder Kevin Rose announced that they were moving all their NFTs to a public domain. In a nutshell, creators are free to use the art behind Moonbird NFTs without facing legal action, an authority referred to as Creative Commons(CC0 license). Rose’s choice paved the way for Ordinal Bird’s development.
The NFT collection is sold out. But according to the Ordinal Birds Twitter, the dev team reserved Bird 94, 96, 98, and 100 as a thank you to Kevin Rose. The NFTs have seen sales go as high as 0.7 BTC($17.1K)
- Bitcoin Punks
Strongly disassociating themselves from CryptoPunks and Larva labs, Bitcoin Punks carries a collection of 100 unique NFTs. According to the NFTs’ website, the Ordinals were inscribed between 1000 and 5600. The development team also boasts about the originality of the Punks’ design(Insisting they are unique from CryptoPunks and Ordinal Punks)
Bitcoin Punks have a light blue background, notably different from CryptoPunks’ dark blue one. However, just like the latter, they entail men’s and women’s unique characters.
Like Ordinal Punks above, BTC Punks also has a spreadsheet showcasing trades and prices of various pieces in the collection. Sales also occur OTC via an escrow on Discord, presently using the handle @punktoshi#6900.
Going through the sheet, it will be very difficult to ignore Punk #4, which has a sale listing value of a whopping 115BTC($2.8M). Something that also stands out is the announcement of a stolen BTC Punk, Punk #75, whom scammers made away with recently.
There is another collection of BTC Punks inscribed later than the first set(5,530), which comes in a set of 10K PFP NFTs.
- Bitcoin Shrooms
One of the earliest Ordinal inscriptions, Bitcoin Shrooms, comes fourth on the Ordinals to watch list. The first digital “mushroom” was the 19th inscription on the Bitcoin network. Bitcoin shrooms’ team made its entry into the market announcement around October 2022 through what it called a Genesis Tweet.
As per its official website, the shrooms are about 210 in number. Sadly, there isn’t much story about these assets, as there hasn’t been a sale yet. BTC Shrooms’ Discord channel is also on recess.
- Bitcoin Rocks(ordrocks)
Paying homage to the rocks on Ethereum, which came about 5 years ago and pioneered NFT developments, is the lucrative Bitcoin Rocks. And just like its Ether counterparts, BTC Rocks are 100 in number.
Bitcoin Rocks are among the first Ordinal inscriptions, with its core piece falling in the 71st inscription. Being one of the first Ordinals, Bitcoin Rocks has built quite the community, visibly felt from its Twitter interactions. The team behind the NFTs even has rockmandments(derived from commandments). Seems funny, right?
The NFTs’ prices can be seen in a Market Sales Tracker spreadsheet, where the floor bidding price at the time of this publication was 2.5 BTC($61K). As for the highest sale listing price, let’s just let you know it’s past $24M.
- BlockMunchers
Scary, beautiful, eye-catching, and valuable, BlockMunchers welcome you to the frightening but intriguing side of Ordinal inscriptions. The set of art pieces, which feature images of monsters with sharp teeth chewing on bitcoin blocks, come in a collection of 50.
The first BlockMuncher holds the inscription number 1975, while the last one came at the 2405 position. Muncher number 48 was the first one in the collection to be sold, going for almost 1 BTC.
- Ordinal Eggs
Ordinal Eggs, which come in different sizes but the same oval shape, couldn’t just miss out on this list. The 100-piece collection, inscribed into the Bitcoin network, presents an artistic nature that is almost second to none. All the eggs fall before the inscription 6033, meaning they lie among the first Ordinal NFT inscriptions.
The eggs’ inscription numbers range from #5119( Egg number 100) to #6033( Egg number 70). Sales and these NFTs’ prices are displayed on a spreadsheet, which showcases the highest selling price listed as 6.9 BTC($168.3K).
Bonus Round: Inscription 0
Well, when it comes to the first things in life, whether it’s your first time walking, talking, or running, you can never forget your first. For that saying, we have included the first-ever Ordinal NFT inscribed into the Bitcoin chain, Inscription 0, in the list. It is an image of a black skull fitted with white drawings that somewhat symbolizes a cultural design.
It will be interesting to see how much it goes for if Bitcoin NFTs charge past artworks available on other blockchain networks.
Will Ordinals help bitcoin regain a bullish spell?
Bitcoin started the year 2023 with bears taking the frontline. However, positive developments have seen the coin show signs of tracing an upward scale, now enjoying a 3-month high of $24.6K. One of the reasons could be the introduction of the trendy Ordinal NFTs.
Ordinal inscriptions have caught the eye of NFT enthusiasts, who have shared both positive and negative insights. Most are skeptical about how these assets’ sales occur, mostly via Escrows on Discord. The sale method has prompted some crypto stans to call these projects long cons, although fear is normal in human nature. They might change their minds if the NFTs prove to be good investments.
So, are Ordinals the answer to bitcoin’s bullish questions? It depends on how many NFT fans trust the coin’s network. Not many of us are used to NFTs on Bitcoin; if they come good, we might see a fast rise in BTC’s price. Everything is difficult before they are easy, so we wait and see, right?
