More and more artists and collectors are turning their attention to the latest NFT trend — Bitcoin Ordinals — and, although it is still early, the ecosystem feels more mature. Today, I would like to dedicate a few lines to the Bitcoin Ordinals’ progression and a few collections that shine through the noise.
As I wrote a few months ago, Bitcoin Ordinals refers to inscribing files on satoshis (the minimum subdivision of a Bitcoin). You can find a summary of the theory behind Bitcoin Ordinals below.
When I wrote that article, it was almost impossible to navigate Bitcoin Ordinals as there wasn’t support for easy minting, collecting, or just exploring the collections. Things have changed. Quickly.
Multiple marketplaces have incorporated the possibility to inscribe (or create) Bitcoin Ordinals NFT, like Magic Eden and Gamma. It is as easy as connecting a Bitcoin wallet (like Hiro, Xverse, or Unisat), funding it, and collecting the Ordinals you want in the marketplace listing.
The average Spend Per Ordinals NFT is $356.
Gamma makes it easy to inscribe an individual piece or a full collection (this was a real issue a few months back), and for ~$50, you can get your Ordinal NFT minted in one hour.
Current transaction fees to inscribe a Bitcoin Ordinal on Gamma.
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… Although quality is questionable. The community around Bitcoin Ordinals is proliferating, from the supporting infrastructure (marketplaces, wallets) to projects and artists inscribing their creations. Nevertheless, I looked at the most popular collections measured by volume to find most of the projects are animal jpegs (pfps).
Top Ordinals Collections Ranked by All-Time Volume.
If you are like me, you are probably more interested in generative art (including coded or AI-assisted artworks).
I spent time navigating the marketplaces and came up with a shortlist of 6 collections to watch…
The artist behind Art Blocks Curated phase, inscribed Refraction two weeks ago (June 6, 2023) via img.art. The collection consists of 51 pieces, and currently, there are 9 listed for sale with a 0.049 Bitcoins floor.
“Refraction” is a motion art piece that plays with light and color to create the effect of lens distortions on geometric patterns. Amorphous shapes gradually melt and change, revealing different intricacies over time.
Refraction #28 by Loren Bednar - animated.
I interviewed rudxane over a year ago; learn more about him and his art practice here.
Ordinal Chains by rudxane (Inscription #5035).
Ordinal Chains is a single file that uses the convention on ordinals.com to fetch the genesis transaction ID from the inscription and use that as the seed to create a deterministic output from random values.
"MemFlux" is a generative approach to the artist's exploration of light as the essence of photography – a crucial factor in image creation. Vibrant lights react to each other's presence and create a visual play of abstract murmuration. Based on deterministic values behaviors change and can be observed in the process. The constant, infinite motion resembles structures inspired by natural phenomena.
MemFlux (Inscription #11194716) by pavɛw dudkɔ - animated.
The artist behind MemFlux released three collections on fxhash, “The String”, “Diffracted” and, more recently, “re.flex.ions” (in collaboration with The Generative Art Museum).
Inscribed in March 2023, Uncommon Patterns has amazed 6.67 Bitcoins in total volume (~$200,000!), and the cheapest piece (out of 50) is listed at 1.2 Bitcoins.
A full-feature cohesive generative Ordinal project exploring sat rarity. Discover the chaotic beauty of 50 algorithmically generated art pieces, all inscribed on uncommon sats.
Uncommon Patterns #13 by Nullish.
Another collection that has driven a tremendous amount of volume (8.9 Bitcoins / $267,000), Cyoherglyphs, was also minted in March 2023. It consists of 256 pieces, which isn’t common (usually, collections are smaller due to blockchain space requirements).
This collection is the second collection created by Billy Restey on Bitcoin Ordinals —Ordinal Shards was the first one.
cypherglyph 182 by Billy Restey.
As the name suggests, this piece is the only one from the list created with AI techniques.
512 AI-Generated species living in depths of the Bitcoin blockchain. The Umwelt AI is a fictional project that delves into the depths of our collective imagination through the lens of Artificial Intelligence.
Each image is a mesmerizing blend of organic and mechanical elements, resulting in a stunning visual experience that stretches the boundaries of what we consider possible. These AI-generated species are inscribed within the blockchain, with their inscriptions beginning in the 47,000s.
The Umwelt AI (incription #46227) by 0xfar.
Did I miss any exciting generative collection inscribed on Ordinals so far? I would love to hear your thoughts…
That’s it for today, folks,
- Kaloh
