When Ordinals made their debut in January 2023, they were viewed as a novel but largely passing trend. Just a few months later, it has become apparent that Bitcoin NFTs are here to stay and that their contributions to the Web3 ecosystem are far from just a fleeting phenomenon. More than 11 million Ordinals Inscriptions have been minted, including record-breaking blocks, Punks derivatives, and Cursed Ordinals.
Even highly noteworthy projects from other blockchains — like the inimitable DeGods — have started expanding to Ordinals, with other collections soon following suit. The sphere of Bitcoin NFTs has welcomed (and continues to welcome) a slew of newcomers from both the Ethereum and Solana ecosystems, signifying a potential sea change in the Web3 space.
What began as a curious shift in the crypto art landscape has since become a wider industry trend as floor prices in ETH continue to drop. The Bitcoin NFT universe is likely just getting started; here are some noteworthy and existing projects and companies expanding their horizons to BTC.
CryptoSkulls
Q: Why are ordinal skulls important for CryptoSkulls?☠️
A: Ordinal Skull mints contribute massively to ongoing costs for not only the core staff but also the Gold of Skulls development team. Ordinals play a vital role in our longevity plan! 🧡
Mint 👇: https://t.co/dumDP85X1l
— CryptoSkulls ☠️ (@Crypto_Skulls) June 7, 2023
Historic NFT project CryptoSkulls recently minted Ordinal CryptoSkulls, a collection of 2,009 unique pixel art visuals inscribed onto satoshis. Priced at 0.005 BTC (approx. $150) each, the art resembles the genesis CryptoSkulls collection, except with a new color scheme inspired by the original Bitcoin logo by Satoshi Nakamoto.
OnChainMonkey
Bitcoin came in 2009.
Ethereum came in 2015.
CryptoPunks came in 2017 as the first 10k on Ethereum.
OnChainMonkey came in 2023 as the first 10k on Bitcoin.
It’s a great time to be in OCM. All holders will get their Bitcoin Ordinal. pic.twitter.com/79rxV0z1VX
— OnChainMonkey (@OnChainMonkey) February 20, 2023
OnChainMonkey (OCM) took a notable step by transitioning to Bitcoin Ordinal inscriptions in February 2023. However, before moving their OCM collection to Bitcoin, the team at Metagood had to address a key challenge. They had to reconcile their dedication to sustainable practices with the well-documented environmental concerns surrounding Bitcoin and other proof-of-work blockchains.
To tackle this, the Metagood team uploaded their OCM collection to Bitcoin in a singular transaction, emulating the approach they took with their original Ethereum collection. This method utilized only 20,000 bytes of data.
The team is set to release a new collection of Bitcoin skyscrapers called OCM Dimensions. It is described as “a small plot of land on Bitcoin, and builds upwards to create the detailed 3D animated rendering all on-chain on Bitcoin.” Each skyscraper uses less than one kilobyte of block space per Dimension and is the second most significant skyscraper on Bitcoin, following OCM Genesis.
DeGods
The DeGods community, originally a leading force within the Solana ecosystem, has successfully established its influence across Bitcoin, ETH, and Polygon. DeGods on Bitcoin features 535 NFTs and was minted on March 17. Among the first prominent ETH projects to transition to Ordinals, DeGods has etched its mark as a trailblazer in this domain.
“Our goal is to be the number one NFT community on each chain,” Dust Labs CEO Kevin Henrikson said in a previous interview with nft now. “We aren’t just trying to go to every chain but are being thoughtful and purposeful on how it can extend our vision.”
Every project & their mother is now bridging / minting a new collection on $BTC.
I’m all for cross chain but it’s still so funny to watch after everyone relentlessly shit on DeGods for moving to $ETH.
(disclaimer: i was skeptical of eth – turned out to be a W)
— becc (@cryptobecc) June 12, 2023
Yuga Labs’ TwelveFold
“Twelvefold” 1-8 by Yuga Labs pic.twitter.com/jnSewRW3sn
— MILK (@satoshimilk) March 13, 2023
While Yuga Labs hasn’t brought Bored Apes to Bitcoin (yet), they’ve still embraced Ordinals with their TwelveFold collection. Unveiled in late February of 2023, this 300-piece collection features artwork inspired by Bitcoin, with a 12×12 grid that serves as a “visual allegory for the cryptography of data on the Bitcoin blockchain.” The collection features highly-rendered 3D elements, complemented by hand-drawn features that bear a resemblance to bubbles. Of the 300 pieces, 288 were made available for auction.
Yuga Labs reserved the remaining 12 pieces with the intention of allocating them to contributors, using them for donations, supporters, and other philanthropic initiatives. The auction for TwelveFold earned a total of 735 BTC ($16,500,000) in 24 hours, with the highest bidder paying $161,000.
Okay Bears
This announcement is one of the best Birthday presents today!
A new @okaybears collection on Bitcoin👀? pic.twitter.com/aNgXfs33F0
— Ted.bitcoin | Web3 (@TedPillows) June 12, 2023
While it hasn’t been confirmed, the popular Solana project Okay Bears seems to be eyeing a move to Ordinals. On June 12, the project’s Twitter account changed its profile picture and banner to Bitcoin orange and included a Bitcoin-stylized “B” in the banner as well.
Chief Fun Officer Warbucks’ June 13 tweet all but confirmed Web3’s assumptions, “While most of us may have started on SOL/ETH, it would be a tragedy to not try out new ecosystems. To be a true Web3 brand, you need to be omnipresent.”
Since then, the official Okay Bears account has been teasing different iterations of the original project, including bears with “golden eyes,” which could be a possible nod to Bitcoin’s laser eye trend. We’ll have to wait and see if these suspicions are confirmed.
0n1 Force
ORDINALS BABY pic.twitter.com/ZhrZH80h7E
— Starlordy (@starlordyftw) May 31, 2023
Another project that has intentions of going deeper into Bitcoin Ordinals but hasn’t yet taken the full plunge is ON1 Force. On June 1, 0N1 Force‘s CEO Starlordy announced that it will be the first anime PFP project on Bitcoin.
“As a Bitcoin maxi, I knew ordinals were the future, but I was still too slow,” Starlordy wrote in a tweet. “Luckily, we did have the foresight to mint some 0n1 sub-500k, so we can say we are still the first anime PFP project on both ETH and BTC… and I can legitimately claim we have the best PFP art on BTC.”
There’s no word yet on when the project will launch, but 0N1 Force tells nft now that the team plans to be intentional in bringing experts in Bitcoin to consult on the collection before the release.
As we navigate the dynamic and ever-evolving landscape of blockchain technology, one thing is becoming increasingly clear: we’re on the precipice of a significant shift toward Ordinals. This is not just a small adjustment but a trend that is projected to gain momentum and fundamentally shape the future of blockchain projects.
