GM

Welcome to the 9 new subs who joined yesterday.

In case you missed yesterday's email, we're now covering Bitcoin NFTs in addition to Ethereum NFTs.

Send us a reply with the next chain you want us to cover! (Unless, of course, it's Cardano NFTs. Please don't ask for Cardano NFTs.)

In today’s edition:

• The NFT that started a war

• Bitcoin NFTs added to the Mint & Watch Lists

• Five new drops

More info on Mint/Watch lists HERE.

The NFT that started a war

Context

Taproot Wizards is a collection of 2121 PFPs on Bitcoin, led by Udi Wertheimer. Although already inscribed on-chain, the NFTs are not for sale…yet.

The project began in February with Inscription #652, which made history as the largest Bitcoin block and transaction ever at 4MB.

Collectors can still get on the whitelist by undergoing quests on the official Taproot Wizards website.

The next quest is set to open on July 31st, and there’s no indication that this will be the last, which leads us to believe that the actual sale is at least a few months away.

Our Take

In the beginning, there was a subreddit

Back in 2013, exactly one decade ago, when crypto Twitter was still referred to as cryptography Twitter (probably), bitcoin enthusiasts gathered around a subreddit called /r/bitcoin.

By November 2013 this community had reached 56,000 subscribers – but they wanted more.

And given that they had no influencers, no YouTubers, no CEOs publicly supporting and buying their token, they did what they could: they bought an ad.

According to the lore, /r/bitcoin mods made a thread asking people to submit designs for the ad, and within an hour /u/mavensbot* got back to them, with this:

Anyone around Reddit during those days remembers this image. The art perfectly encapsulates what Bitcoin was at the time: fun, experimental, welcoming, a little scuffed. It’s iconic.

Much of these vibes were lost over the years

The Bitcoin brand entered its Very Serious phase, where every issue, every debate, was made to be a matter of life and death.

Now, of course, some of this is maybe warranted – Bitcoin is trying to solve significant problems in the world. But people can’t always be in a state of war. They need some fun.

Ordinals is a return to that sense of wonder and humor. It’s giving people “Early Bitcoin” vibes.

And Taproot Wizards is the flagship project of this movement

At the head of the team you have Udi Wertheimer, a sharp commentator who spends most of his time debating Bitcoin maxis that want nothing more than to kill Ordinals.

Literally – these people go around conferences saying that Bitcoin needs to radically change to eliminate those pesky NFTs.

Meanwhile – Udi goes around conferences doing Fortnite dances in a Wizards costume.

The maxis never stood a chance

He who controls the memes, controls the universe, as they say (they say this right?).

Udi has also put together a coalition of other respected Twitter thinkbois that have aligned around what they’re calling Bitcoin Season 2, including Eric Wall and Nic Carter. And of course, Taproot Wizards is their mascot.

This battle for Bitcoin won’t end anytime soon. That means that the Wizards, for better or worse, will continue to be in the limelight. And the Magic Internet Money meme will once again, 10 years later, become a banner used to bring people into the space.

So let’s review

• Ordinals is the fastest-growing segment in NFTs

• This is causing huge changes in Bitcoin tech/culture

• Taproot Wizards is the face of the movement

• They chose the perfect meme for the job

• The community already has a place in history 

Now how do you actually get one?

You do quests, naturally. Previously this included things like adding a Wizard emoji to your Twitter profile or filming yourself taking a shower in a Wizard costume.

Yours Truly hasn’t done any of these yet, mostly due to procrastination, but also because I’m just not filming myself taking a shower for Twitter, no matter how cool the NFT is.

But I’ll be there for the next one.

✨ Added to Mint List #1 ✨

*P.S. u/mavensbot launched his own ordinals collection of Bitcoin wizards a couple of months ago.

NOTE: These drops are lightly curated. Our only requirement is that they have recognizable founders. As usual, DYOR. To learn more go here.

OCM Dimensions

The technically-focused OnChainMonkey brand, whose genesis ETH collection was the first on-chain 10k collection to be created in a single transaction, is innovating once again with OCM Dimensions.

The collection features 3D generative art on Bitcoin with additional pioneering features like the recently developed recursion, which they’re using to inscribe generative art packages on-chain that other creators can then use in the future.

Although the total collection size is 2,500, only 300 pieces will be available to mint this Thursday for 0.08 BTC each. These are the rarest pieces in the collection both from a trait and sat rarity perspective.

Even though I might not be a fan of the art’s aesthetics, the technical innovations brewing here are too large to ignore.

✨ Added to Mint List #10 ✨

Azur Root

After a redoing of the project’s original art, Azurbala has revealed the project’s next steps, starting with a mint for Azur Roots from June 15th until July 26th, which will only be available for those who burn Bored & Dangerous NFTs.

These NFTs will be redeemable for the project’s avatars sometime after the mint closes. We’ll be waiting to see what kind of additional content will accompany these various phases.

Chromatica Ordinals by Resaang

Resaang, artist and Underground team member, has announced her upcoming collection of 100 hand-painted artworks on Bitcoin, Chromatica Ordinals, focusing on the relationship between the physical and digital realms.

For those who value sat rarity, you’ll be glad to know that these will be inscribed on Block 78 Rare Satoshis. We’ll be keeping an eye out for pricing details on the project’s Twitter.

DigiDaigaku Chibi Ordinals

Limit Break’s DigiDaigaku is venturing into ordinals with their 2022-supply Chibi collection, which is, of course, free-to-own (and mint!), claimable only for Genesis holders.

Although Digi’s popularity has come down in recent months, this free claim should be a no-brainer for any Genesis holder and does pique our interest in terms of what could be done alongside it. Hence, we have…

✨ Added to Watch List ✨

Inscribed Pepes - lil peepos

Inscribed Pepes, one of the most popular Ordinals collections with one of the most beloved frogs in the world, has announced a follow-up collection, lil peepos.

These 420 smol toads have already been inscribed featuring the same pixel art style as the original collection in a cuter, more compact package.

We mention these since the original project has proven so popular but do be aware, Beloved Reader, these are just memes. Don’t expect any kind of meta-breaking roadmap after mint.

THE MINT LIST

1. Taproot Wizards. OG Bitcoin meme inscribed as ordinals

2. Project Animus. RTFKT's biggest launch since Clone-X

3. FewoWorld. New PFP by Fewocious, a rising star in the art world

4. Symbiogenesis. Square Enix's upcoming gaming NFT

5. 10KTF PFP. Drop from a team that includes Yuga and Beeple

6. Garbage Friends. New PFP from the creator of Invisible Friends

7. Dimensionals - EVE. Free gaming PFP from doxxed studio

8. Tony Babel x Typical Friends. Limited edition from the popular artist

9. Ether. Anime PFP collection by viii, an artist with a cult following

10. OCM Dimensions. 3D gen art on Bitcoin from the innovative team