In a surprising turn of events, Bitcoin nonfungible token (NFT) sales have experienced a remarkable 80% week-over-week surge, reaching a staggering $168.5 million. This surge, reported by CryptoSlam! data, has propelled Bitcoin NFT collections to surpass their Ethereum counterparts in the last seven days, with Ethereum generating $162 million in sales.
The driving force behind this surge is attributed to the rise of Bitcoin Ordinals-based NFT collections, notably led by the prominent NodeMonkes collection. Launched in January 2023, Ordinals introduced a groundbreaking concept, allowing users to create NFT-like assets by embedding files, such as images, into satoshis (sats), the smallest unit of Bitcoin.
Among the top-performing NFT collections for the week, three of the five best-selling were Bitcoin Ordinals-based. The uncategorized Ordinals, not part of any specific collection, dominated sales with a remarkable $43 million sold across more than 47,000 transactions. Following closely was the NodeMonkes collection, which saw an impressive nearly 170% increase from the previous week, raking in over $41 million in sales. The Ordinals collection Natcats claimed the fourth position with sales exceeding $10 million.
NodeMonkes, a collection of 10,000 unique pixelated profile picture (PFP)-style Ordinals launched in December, proudly asserts itself as the first 10,000-strong collection on the Bitcoin blockchain. Although other 10,000 count Ordinals collections existed earlier, the NodeMonkes team etched their collection onto the blockchain in February 2023, just a month after Ordinals’ initial launch.
In a notable development, user “NFTstats” revealed on March 2 that NodeMonkes’ market capitalization had surpassed $500 million, securing its position as the third-largest PFP-style NFT collection across all blockchains, trailing only the Ethereum-based Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC).
The sudden attention garnered by NodeMonkes remains somewhat unclear. However, GRAYCRAFT founder Kevin Wu, in a February 22 post, suggested that the collection’s “meaningful provenance” as the first PFP-style NFT collection on “the first chain ever” could be a compelling narrative attracting speculative investors. This narrative potentially positions NodeMonkes as a unique and coveted asset in the expanding world of NFTs.
