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Links for the Top 25 drops are HERE.

This one is for 85% of you

O Dearly Beloved, this week we covered an unusually high number of drops on Ordinals (you may have noticed). 

And I must admit that this still gives me a slight sensation of guilt.

You see I know many (most) of our readers predominantly traffic in Ethereum non-fungibles, and my traveling abroad can almost seem like some strange act of metaversal betrayal. 

There’s no data on how many active Ethereum collectors have bought into Ordinals so far. But, gun to my head, and based on absolutely nothing, my guess would be that it’s still less than 15%. 

So today I want to offer a quick observation to those other 85%.

Yesterday SuperRare announced their first launch on Ordinals, a 1/1 auction with popular artist Killer Acid.

It’s a big move and follows a string of “higher-end” brands stepping in, such as Sotheby’s, Bugatti and Asprey, along with artists like Richard Nadler, Harvey Rayner and Ripcache. 

By the end of the year, we’ll likely move from people saying I’m surprised so-and-so is launching on Ordinals to I’m surprised they’re not. 

BTW, it may seem like things were always this way, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. 

The brand value of Ordinals was atrocious just 9-12 months ago, when tweets like this matched the sentiment at the time (and weren’t wrong given the quality of projects).  

But today there’s a major change happening

More people are starting to view Ordinals as premium assets. 

There’s a growing mystique to the brand. For example, in Nate Alex’s upcoming Natives drop (covered here), part of his pitch is that everyone holding one of the NFTs also gets an inscription on Bitcoin. 

We’re seeing this maneuver more often, and reading between the lines, the implication is that the Ordinal is a luxury add-on. The effect would be lost if he had said And last but not least…you each get your very own Solana NFT! (no offense) 

This might seem like a Jedi mind trick, but you should understand that the stigma around Ordinals was one of the main obstacles keeping artists off the platform last year (people would literally call you a grifter just for launching there), and now that’s dissipating. 

So what’s driving this change?

Well, there’s the growing notion that you can do a lot more on Bitcoin than previously imagined. Things like Evolving NFTs, Recursion and fully onchain gen-art are expanding the canvas of what’s possible. 

We’re also seeing higher fees curate what “gets accepted” on Bitcoin because someone likely had to pay $100+ to inscribe each Ordinal. Sure, sometimes a collection of cocks can sneak in there, but fees keep out 99% of the junk you find on every other chain. 

Finally, it helps that Bitcoin has tripled in value over the last year. It’s really starting to feel like you’re creating art on golden plates. 

Bottom line 

Ordinals will keep showing up in this Blessed Newsletter, perhaps with even more frequency. 

It’s not because I’m a Bitcoin maxi, it just happens to be the case that more is going on there lately and I can only cover what’s in front of me. 

So, to make things easier, I am once again asking those in the 85% camp to join us. 

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

Elixir Labs Free Mint

Elixir Games, a web3 gaming platform endorsed by recognizable market players (Square Enix among them), is dropping a collection of free flasks.

You can’t sip from these, but they’re useful for web3 gamers standing on the frontlines of new releases, granting holders access to the platform’s IGOs (more info on that here).

While most new games suck (source: trust me bro), getting a free front-row ticket for upcoming releases is still worthwhile for the chance of discovering that one hidden gem.

Bowled.io Free Mint

I’m guessing most of you aren’t raving cricket fans. But for those who are, Bowled.io’s free mint might get you going.

Primarily focused on the batting game, the platform merges sports and gaming through web3-powered mini games that tie into a $BWLD token (coming soon). Also of note, Sky Mavis (makers of Axie Infinity) is one of their backers.

Details around this free mint are limited right now, but I’d guess it’ll probably include some platform perks for holders.

STRANGE IDEOGRAPH by The Color Blocks

Pseudonymous generative artist The Color Blocks is dropping a collection of aesthetic mathematical experiments in STRANGE IDEOGRAPH.

The ideas behind the collection involve the concept of strange attractors, which you can read more about here. Basically, after a bunch of calculations what’s left are complex structures composed of ~60,000 particles each.

These might appeal to mathematically inclined collectors, who’ll be curating the entire supply via a customizable generator.