What are Ordinals?

Ordinals are a key protocol within Bitcoin NFTs, aiming to introduce NFTs into the Bitcoin ecosystem. The two core components of the Ordinals protocol are the Ordinals numeral theory and Inscription. Simply put, numerals are a protocol for assigning ordinal numbers to the smallest unit of Bitcoin, “satoshis,” and tracking the spending of these satoshis in transactions. The inscription refers to attaching any asset as a stable identifier to a “satoshi” after its number, similar to the Minting on Ethereum NFTs. With the release of the Ordinals 0.4.0 protocol by Bitcoin core contributor Casey Rodarmor, NFTs were officially brought to the Bitcoin mainnet.

What are Bitcoin NFTs?

As is well known, the Bitcoin network currently only supports transfers between BTCs. However, the Ordinals protocol introduced a method based on Bitcoin’s smallest unit of value, “satoshi.” The Ordinals protocol allows arbitrary content, such as images, text, links, etc., to be written to a “satoshi” and marks and numbers each satoshi. When a transfer transaction occurs on the Bitcoin network, a “satoshi” is transferred from account A to account B, meaning the content within the “satoshi” is also transferred. Since each “satoshi” is marked and numbered, the content written into it is also marked and numbered, turning a “satoshi” from a unit of measurement into an NFT unit. This shows that the Ordinals protocol effectively expands the range of uses for the Bitcoin system.

BTC Chain NFT Market Value Ranking (Source: https://magiceden.io/, February 18, 2024)

Top 10 Bitcoin NFT Rankings

Bitmap

Bitmap, with a market cap of 3,300 BTC (approximately $172.5M), is the first metaverse project in the Bitcoin ecosystem. It is based on an open-source standard protocol proposed on Ordinals, primarily for the primary market sale of virtual land. Similar to Sandbox, its land can build countless similar projects. However, what sets Bitmap apart is its binding to blocks, naturally creating scarcity. The scarcity of Bitmap comes from the ordinals of the blocks to which it belongs.

Regarding Bitcoin NFT trading volume rankings, Bitmap is at the top. Currently, the floor price of Bitmap is 0.004 BTC, and the total sales volume of Bitmap on the Magiceden platform has reached 495.684 BTC, which is quite impressive and has been stable in the Top 10 for a long time.

Bitmap NFT Series (Source: https://magiceden.io/ordinals/marketplace/bitmap)

NodeMonkes

NodeMonkes, also known as Node Monkeys, currently has a market cap of 1,800 BTC (approximately $92.7M). It is the first native 10K PFP series on Bitcoin, attracting market attention with its borderless design, making it look quite different from other pixel art characters. NodeMonkes prefers abstractness over finely defined characteristics.

The NodeMonkes team once refused a $5 million VC investment, insisting on a Free Mint project, which sparked heated discussions in the market. Since its launch, the project’s total transaction volume has exceeded 1,400 bitcoins, with the latest floor price at 0.176 BTC.

NodeMonkes Official Website (Source: https://nodemonkes.com/send-nodes/3)

RSIC METAPROTOCOL

RSIC stands for Rune Specific Inscription Circuits, referring to the NFTs held for rune reward systems. RSIC currently has a market cap of 1,700 BTC (approximately $86.9M), with 21,000 NFTs (10% reserved by the project team). Players holding RSIC use it to mine Runes tokens, with its core being a digital game where players manage and operate RSIC tokens to obtain runes. These runes will be “inscribed” on the Bitcoin network at some future point. RSIC inscriptions represent an attempt to find new play modes and applications in blockchain technology, combining inscriptions with gaming.

The RSIC project team is very technically proficient, utilizing parent-child inscriptions, Metaprotocol fields, recursive inscriptions, JavaScript inscriptions calling block data, and the deployment and distribution of the Rune protocol during the entire issuance process. According to Magic Eden data, the RSIC METAPROTOCOL floor price is currently 0.079 BTC, with a total trading volume of 469.52 BTC.

RSIC Series NFT (Source: https://magiceden.io/ordinals/marketplace/rsic)

Ordinal Maxi Biz

The Ordinal Maxi Biz (OMB) project, with a market cap of 1,600 BTC (approximately $82.8M), is the first PFP project inscribed on Block 9, notably popular for its historical and cultural significance. The total supply of OMB is 2,100, divided into three series: Blue eyes, Red eyes, and the latest, Green eyes.

OMB was founded by zk-Shark, a former Wall Street professional, highlighting the significant participation of the Wall Street cryptocurrency sector in the project. As of this writing, the floor price of OMB is 0.51 BTC, with a total trading volume exceeding 720 BTC and over 1,200 holding addresses.

Ordinals Maxi Biz NFT series (Source: https://magiceden.io/ordinals/marketplace/omb)

Bitcoin Frogs

Bitcoin Frogs, one of the earliest Bitcoin Ordinals NFT projects, has a market cap of 1,400 BTC (approximately $72.9M). The project consists of 10,000 pieces, permanently retained on Bitcoin without further issuance. Initially priced at 0.01 BTC (about $300), Bitcoin Frogs’ trading volume has surpassed 1,000 BTC (around $40 million), at one point exceeding the Bored Apes Yacht Club (BAYC) to become the blockchain industry’s largest NFT series by volume.

From Deezy Labs’ Vibegawd and the anonymous artist Frogtoshi, who created 10,000 artworks for Bitcoin Frogs, Deezy Labs supported the project’s launch with lightning payment technology. The official community remains active with weekly competitions and giveaways and a dedicated Discord channel for holder interaction and communication.

Bitboin Frogs series (Source: https://magiceden.io/ordinals/marketplace/bitcoin-frogs)

OnChainMonkey (OCM)

OnChainMonkey, valued at 770 BTC (approximately $40.1M), is the first collection of 10,000 PFP NFTs inscribed on Bitcoin, with images rendered through smart contract code using just 0.798 ETH for complete on-chain deployment. Currently, OnChainMonkey has a total trading volume of 9.29 BTC on the Magic Eden marketplace, with the latest floor price of 0.088 BTC and over 1,700 holders.

The OnChainMonkey team boasts extensive blockchain experience, including Amanda Terry, former business development director at Twitter and NBC, and investor Dan Scheinman, Zoom’s first investor and early backer of over 20 public companies like Canva and Dapper Labs.

Reportedly, OnChainMonkey secured $5 million in funding led by Sora Ventures, with participation from CTAI Ventures, Bitcoin Frontier Fund, UTXO Management, London Real Ventures, Peach XYZ, and others. The project launched the $KARMA token, distributing airdrop rewards to OnChainMonkey NFT holders to boost recognition and market attention.

OnChainMonkey (Source: https://onchainmonkey.com/collection/ocm-genesis)

Bitcoin Puppets

Bitcoin Puppets, with a current market cap of 680 BTC (approximately $35.4M), is a collection of 10,001 visual programming language puppets. The launch saw overwhelming demand, causing the minting platform InscribeNow to crash and payment confirmations congested, with the secondary market’s maximum price increase exceeding 800%. The floor price has since been adjusted to 0.0068 BTC.

Created by a 12-year-old using MS Paint, Bitcoin Puppets are not just puppets but also a representation of absurdity, including 777 handcrafted puppets made with basic tools and passion. Beyond art, the official statement clarifies no intention for other uses.

Bitcoin Puppets (Source: https://ordpuppetinuundoxxedmillionaires.com/)

Ordinal Punks

Ordinal Punks has a market cap of 425 BTC (approximately $22.1M), generated using an open-source algorithm to create 192x192 pixel PFPs as a tribute to the initial Ethereum NFT, CryptoPunks. A total of 100 unique designs were issued, and all were minted in just one day at a minting price of only 0.01 BTC.

The first transaction price for an Ordinal Punk was 0.07 BTC, with the latest floor price being 4.75 BTC. The scarcity of Ordinal Punks has attracted market attention, drawing in numerous NFT artists and enthusiasts. Among them, the most sought-after piece, Ordinal Punk 78, reached an astonishing price of 50 BTC (approximately $1.3 million).

Ordinal Punks NFT series (Source: https://magiceden.io/ordinals/marketplace/opunk)

Mineral

Currently, Mineral has a market cap of 379.6 BTC (approximately $19.8M) and is the first to adopt a Layer 2 network DeFi design for RWA (Real World Asset) inscriptions, featuring 415 unique NFTs. Mineral is created using the BRC-20/BRC-420 standards, allowing its owners to earn BTC interest periodically through staking. It leverages the power of real-world mining to unlock the true value of BTC and inscriptions.

Mineral is built on a ZK-EVM-compatible Layer 2 network, ensuring security and complete decentralization for efficient and secure DeFi applications. It will soon support a stake-to-earn model, multiple reward mechanisms, and a flywheel effect to maximize user earnings while maintaining profitability. The current floor price for Mineral is 0.0118 BTC.

Mineral operation model (Source: https://www.mner.club/)

Bitcoin Punks

Bitcoin Punks has a market cap of 310 BTC (approximately $16.2M) and is an NFT project on the Bitcoin mainnet based on the Ordinals protocol, featuring 10,000 unique 8-bit pixel-style character avatars.

Bitcoin Punks is also the first project to use Ordinals to perfectly migrate all bytes of the famous Ethereum NFT project, Crypto Punks, to the Bitcoin blockchain network, with support for trading on Opensea. Officials have verified the hash values of each image uploaded to Bitcoin Ordinals, comparing them to the original 10,000 punk images. The links for Bitcoin Punks must be the first appearance of the inscription, including the corresponding hash value on the Ordinals protocol.

Bitcoin Punks NFT series (Source: https://bitcoinpunks.com/)

Bitcoin NFT Future Development

Larger Block Space

After the launch of the Ordinals protocol, the daily average block size of the Bitcoin network exceeded two million, reaching a new high in three years. If the enthusiasm for NFTs on the Bitcoin network continues, there might be a demand for expanding the block space. Therefore, the concept of enlarging the Bitcoin network could re-emerge due to this popularity.

NFT Market

Currently, there isn’t a comprehensive top-tier secondary trading market like OpenSea for Bitcoin network NFTs. The minting of NFTs on the Bitcoin network is completed through full node operation programs while buying, selling, and transferring rely on Bitcoin address transactions. Users also lack an intuitive and easy-to-understand trading interface, highlighting the absence of a trading market.

Domains and Other Infrastructure

Users looking for NFTs on the BTC chain inevitably deal with the currently used addresses, but like Ethereum addresses, Bitcoin addresses are also lengthy and disorganized. Finding specific addresses requires the use of domain services like ENS. The btc.us website already offers domain services with a .btc suffix, but registering a domain requires the payment of STX tokens. If the popularity of Bitcoin chain NFTs continues to rise, the demand for NFT displays will become stronger, and domain services can facilitate display and access. The high fees and lack of smart contracts on the Bitcoin network also bring more development opportunities for Layer2 projects on its chain.

Conclusion

With the development of Bitcoin NFTs, new opportunities and hotspots will inevitably emerge. The current state of Bitcoin NFTs and Ordinals is still in its early stages, executing popular NFT businesses on the most representative and consensus-based chain in a cumbersome manner to demonstrate the possibilities of Bitcoin. Compared to the volume and value of NFTs on the Ethereum network, the Bitcoin network has an absolute traffic advantage and development potential. In the pursuit of co-building Bitcoin NFTs, there are opportunities and pitfalls, and caution is advised while exploring these opportunities.