Record Keeping Sale: Early Bitcoin Art Fetches $450,000
[TL; DR]
An early Bitcoin art, Honey Badger inion number eight, fetched 10.4 BTC on Magic Eden NFT marketplace.
There are more than 46 million ordinal inions on the bitcoin blockchain.
Sotheby sold an ordinals collection entitled Bitcoin Shrooms created by Shroomtoshi.
Introduction
The current crypto bullish market has brought renewed activities in the NFT sector where several NFT art have racked in much money. Although the NFT market seems quiet artists have been adding more work such as bitcoin ordinals on the market.
This article discusses an early bitcoin art that fetched $450,000. We shall also delve into how the NFT market has been expanding since 2022.
Number Eight Honey Badger Inion Sells for $450,000
On 7 December 2023 Magic Eden NFT marketplace sold Honey Badger inion number eight, minted on 15 January this year, for a record price of 10.4 BTC, valued at $450,000 at that time. Magic Eden, the number 1 NFT marketplace based on the Solana blockchain, was launched in March 2023.
Notably, Magic Eden announced its historic sale on X. It posted, “We just witnessed the highest Ordinal sale of all time… Inion #8, 10.4 BITCOIN SALE.” The {1703490190508055} collection consists of 10,000 ordinal inions numbered from 8 to 1029518.
An X user, “OG General” purchased the ordinals inion. Chris Akhavan, the general manager of Magic Eden, hailed that sale. Akhavan told Decrypt, “We love the energy across the Ordinals eco right now, and seeing big marquee sales like Inion #8 going for close to $460K really solidifies the value people see in digital artefacts that are permanently inscribed on the Bitcoin blockchain.”
Magic Eden added support for bitcoin ordinals in June which enable creators to mint inions on the bitcoin blockchain. They can also create memes, which has increased the utility of the network. Anyone can buy or sell NFT of his/her choice on the platform.
Over 46 Million Ordinals Inions Exist on the Bitcoin Blockchain
Ordinal inions are digital assets that are similar to non-fungible tokens (NFTs). People create bitcoin ordinals by attaching different content like artwork, text, videos or music on satoshis, which are bitcoin’s smallest units. That became possible after bitcoin’s taproot upgrade launched in November 2021.
Data on the Dune report shows that there are over 46 million ordinals inions that were minted after Casey Rodarmor developed the Ordinals project in January 2023. The following picture provides the exact details.
Bitcoin Ordinals in Existence - Dataalways
Since their inception the bitcoin NFTs have become very popular to the extent that they have generated over $106 million on the bitcoin network through fees.
Despite their popularity, some analysts have criticized them for increasing network congestion and pushing the gas fees up. As a result, a certain quarter of the bitcoin community is calling for the removal of bitcoin ordinals from the network.
Another unexpected disadvantage of the bitcoin ordinals technology is the rise in spam on the network. Luke Dashjr, a Bitcoin Core developer, is against bitcoin inions due to their spamming effect.
He explained the situation: “‘Inions’ are exploiting a vulnerability in Bitcoin Core to spam the blockchain. By obfuscating their data as program code, inions bypass this limit.”
He added, “This bug was recently fixed in Bitcoin Knots v25.1. It took longer than usual due to my workflow being severely disrupted at the end of last year. Bitcoin Core is still vulnerable in the upcoming v26 release. I can only hope it will finally get fixed before v27 next year.”
Sale of Bitcoin Ordinals on Soothebye
Recently, Sotheby, a famous auction house, announced its first sale of an ordinals collection entitled Bitcoin Shrooms created by Shroomtoshi, a pseudonymous artist. The artist described the NFT collection as a “pixelated recap” of bitcoin’s 13 year history.
Read also: What are the Main NFT Collections?
On the other hand, Sotheby describes the collection as “Elegantly weaving the nuanced tapestry of Bitcoin’s history, culture, and core technicalities, each unique, pixelated, and hand-crafted piece forms part of a masterful, yet playful guide to the revolutionary realm of Bitcoin.”
It added, “Within the BitcoinShrooms collection lies a trove of references — from iconic Bitcoin memes to advanced technical concepts— a visual symphony that captures Bitcoin’s essence from the perspective of someone there since the early days.”
As noted, the collection comprises various aspects that include Bitcoin memes, technical concepts, among others. It has more than 200 pieces that depict the key developments that occurred on the bitcoin blockchain since its inception in 2009.
The artwork includes a pixelated character with a ‘mountain’ hat, a depiction of a private key and a portrait with a question mark. There are iconic characters and logos from renowned personalities like Batman, Wall-e, Super Mario and Iron Man. It is important to note that anyone can buy NFT of choice on Magic Eden.
Conclusion
Magic Eden recorded the sale of an early bitcoin art for 10, 4 BTC equivalent to around $450,000 at the time of sale. The Honey Badger inion number eight, minted on 15 January, was purchased on 7 December. That transaction shows that NFT art is still in high demand and has a bright future.
FAQs about Bitcoin Ordinals
What is honey badger?
A honey badger is a strong animal that belongs to the weasel family, mainly found in bushy areas of Africa and Asia. The honey badger, whose scientific name is Mellivora capensis, often has a white upper part and a black lower one. Honey badgers are nocturnal animals that feed on a variety of insects like scorpions and termites.
What are ordinals inions?
Ordinals inions are digital assets created on the bitcoin blockchain through adding media like text, videos and music on satoshi. A Satoshi is the smallest unit of bitcoin.
What is Magic Eden?
Magic Eden is an NFT marketplace built on the Solana blockchain that allows people to Shiba Inu. Traders can also buy different NFTs on that digital platform.
