In the past week, the market for non-fungible tokens (NFTs) minted on the Bitcoin blockchain has witnessed remarkable activity, with sales totaling approximately $425.63 million. Notably, the top ten NFT collections during this period all originated from the BTC blockchain, with these collections, known as Ordinal inscriptions, experiencing significant trading volumes and establishing robust baseline values for digital collectibles within the Bitcoin ecosystem.

Bitcoin NFTs experience impressive sales rates

Over the past six weeks, these NFTs, specifically Ordinal inscriptions, have demonstrated impressive sales rates. This trend emerged in November when NFT sales from Bitcoin surpassed those from Ethereum, and it has persisted into December. According to data from cryptoslam.io, BTC achieved $425.63 million in NFT sales in the last week, surpassing the runner-up Solana, which recorded $104 million in seven days. Ethereum, traditionally a frontrunner in NFT sales, now ranks third with approximately $79.98 million in sales over the same period.

Examining the marketplaces facilitating BTC-based NFT sales, the leading trio comprises Okx, Unisat, and Magic Eden as of December 20, 2023. Okx dominates this niche with a commanding market share of over 85%. Unisat follows with an 8.3% share, and Magic Eden captures about 4.3%, according to data from Dune Analytics. Notably, Magic Eden’s seven-day market data indicates that Bitcoin Frogs has been the most traded collection in the BTC-based NFT space.

Market dynamics and notable collections

In terms of market values, a BTC Frog NFT had a floor price of 0.395 BTC, equivalent to $17,241 based on current BTC exchange rates. Magic Eden reported BTC Frogs reaching 193.26 BTC in sales volume, amounting to $8.43 million, within a week. Across various platforms listing Bitcoin Frogs, the collection amassed a total of 328.95 BTC or $14.35 million in sales. Other notable collections from the past week include bitmap, early sub-100K Ordinals (indicating they were minted before the 100,000th mark), MNCHRMS, Bitcoin Punks, Ordinal Maxi, Fuzzy Fox, and early sub-10K Ordinals.

While Bitcoin Ordinal inscription collections may not match the value of leading Ethereum NFT collections such as Cryptopunks, Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC), and Mutant Ape Yacht Club (MAYC), they are rapidly gaining recognition and approaching their stature. Comparing market valuations, Cryptopunks stands at an impressive $1.14 billion, significantly overshadowing the $172 million market cap of Bitcoin Frogs. However, the market cap of Bitcoin Frogs is more comparable to that of BAYC, valued at $572 million, and MAYC, with a market cap of $224 million.

The past week has witnessed a surge in the Bitcoin-based NFT market, with substantial sales and a notable shift in the hierarchy of leading NFT collections. While Ethereum has traditionally held the spotlight in the NFT space, Bitcoin-based Ordinal inscriptions are carving out a significant presence and garnering attention with their impressive sales volumes and market values. As the landscape continues to evolve, it will be interesting to observe how these trends shape the broader NFT market.