A “Bitcoin Punk” NFT recently sold for 9.5 BTC, roughly $214’000.

The “Ordinal Punk” NFT collection, minted on the Bitcoin-native “Ordinals Protocol”, sold out earlier this month and features 100 NFTs in the style of the famous Ethereum-based CryptoPunks collection.

As of now, more than 155’000 Bitcoin NFTs, named “ordinals”, have been minted (“inscribed” is the official term). Growth has exploded and it’s not slowing down.

But wait… I thought Bitcoin couldn’t do NFTs? And what's all that fuss all about, anyway? Today, we’re going to look at:

  • What are ordinals & how they work, technically

  • Why ordinals are regarded as “better” NFTs (at least for some)

  • Why ordinals divide the Bitcoin community

  • How to find, buy, create, and receive ordinals 

  • The difference between “Ordinal Punks” and “Bitcoin Punks”

  • Impact of ordinals on miners

  • Impact of ordinals on NFTs as we know them

  • What this means for Bitcoin (the big picture)

One thing is clear: It's certainly one of the most exciting developments in crypto recently. Let’s dive in.