Bitcoin Ordinals Face Sales Slump Amidst Market Oversaturation and Blockchain Competition
Summary:
Bitcoin Ordinals, the original nonfungible tokens (NFTs) minted on the Bitcoin network, have seen their monthly sales drop 61% in January despite the curiosity around Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and the coming halving event. The oversaturation of the NFT market and the rise of alternative blockchains have contributed to this decline. On the other hand, NFT sales on the Avalanche network increased by 89% in January, largely driven by Dokyo NFTs. Industry insiders speculate the upcoming Bitcoin halving could spark renewed interest in Ordinals.
Despite the hype around Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and the impending halving event, Bitcoin Ordinals, the original generation of nonfungible tokens (NFTs) minted on the Bitcoin network, have encountered a slump in sales. From a record high in December, the sales for January plummeted 61%, amounting to a mere $335 million, as tracked by NFT data gewgaw CryptoSlam. This decline is largely attributed to the upsurge of other blockchain options and an over-saturation in the NFT market, explains Andy Lian, an intergovernmental blockchain professional and author. January observed a slight decrease of 2.2% in Ethereum NFT sales, coincided by a striking surge of 89% ($46.7 million) in NFT sales on the Avalanche network. The majority of the latter's sales volume, approximately 67%, came from Dokyo NFTs, a collection of 5,555 NFTs by anonymous creator 0xBrando. Notably, Dokyo's 24-hour sales volume briefly surpassed that of Bored Ape Yacht Club sales in November, climbing to the top of the sales leaderboard in January. Besides the competition from other NFT collections, Ordinals have faced critiques in the Bitcoin sector, alongside technical complications, leading to a potential hit on their legitimacy among Bitcoin enthusiasts. Sebastien Guillemot, co-founder of Web3 gaming engine Paima Studios, suggests that fascination with Ordinals might be shifting towards Bitcoin layer-2s. Despite the downturn in sales, the total Ordinals inscriptions continue to swell, with over 59 million regular inscriptions noted on the Bitcoin network. It is speculated that the forthcoming Bitcoin halving could rekindle the appeal of Ordinals, especially under the conditions of an enhanced value and scarcity of each satoshi, potentially incentivizing miners to process Ordinal transactions. Furthermore, major crypto entities like Binance continue to express interest, launching its marketplace for Ordinals early this month. As discussed in the 11th edition of the State of Crypto report, such innovations as Ordinals could potentially expand Bitcoin's applications beyond being a mere store-of-value asset.
Published At
2/2/2024 5:35:58 PM
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