Sotheby’s Pioneers Bitcoin Ordinals With Upcoming NFT Sale

Sotheby’s New York has announced a pioneering online auction titled “BitcoinShrooms: An Ordinals Auction,” scheduled to take place from December 6th to 13th, 2023. This event marks a notable development in the digital art sector, as Sotheby’s ventures into the realm of Bitcoin Ordinals, a relatively new form of non-fungible tokens (NFTs), with a collection created by the digital artist Shroomtoshi.

Shroomtoshi’s BitcoinShrooms collection is an upcoming NFT project within the Ordinals space, offering a series of pixelated artworks that delve into the intricate tapestry of Bitcoin’s history, culture, and technological advancements. The artist, choosing to remain anonymous in the vein of Bitcoin’s mysterious creator, Satoshi Nakamoto, has crafted a collection that not only serves as digital art but also as an educational tool about BTC’s core principles and evolution.

Sotheby’s Opens First Bitcoin Ordinals Sale

Describing the essence of the collection, Shroomtoshi said, “The BitcoinShrooms collection is a pixelated recap of the first 13 years of Bitcoin, a homage to the 8-bit style of art with a slight nostalgia for the 90s, and a way to soil tens of thousands of SSDs spread across the world with my art. It’s a tool to raise awareness about BTC’s core principles, and an ironic way to vent at what I see as its annoying pop elements and aberrations. It is knowledge condensed and a journey for the curious.”

Michael Bouhanna, Head of Digital Art & Contemporary Art Specialist at Sotheby’s, shared his enthusiasm via X, stating, “We are excited to present BitcoinShrooms, the first ordinal sale at Sotheby’s. This is a unique opportunity to start with such an anticipated project.

It showcases the potential of Ordinals to revolutionize the digital art space.” Featured in the auction are notable pieces like “S” for Self-Sovereignty, “Sovereign Individual,” inspired by the concepts of cryptography and decentralization, and “BIP39 Seed,” a piece underscoring the significance of private key security in BTC.

Bitcoin Ordinals, distinct from other blockchain-based NFTs, are serialized Satoshis, the smallest units of BTC, embedded with media content known as Inscriptions. This technology enables on-chain immutability and full ownership control, free from the constraints of smart contract logic.

The collection, originally minted in October 2022, includes over 200 pieces, each reflecting different aspects of BTC’s history and culture. It ranges from depictions of significant events in Bitcoin’s timeline to allusions to various cultural icons and concepts, creating a rich mosaic of references and artistic interpretations.

The auction is set to accept bids in both fiat currency and cryptocurrencies, reflecting the growing integration of digital currencies in traditional art markets. The individual pieces are estimated to fetch between $20,000 and $30,000, highlighting the significant interest and value attributed to these unique digital assets.

At press time, the ORDI token was trading at $54.637, an increase of almost 30% since yesterday’s low of $40.79.

Featured image from Scenic Sotheby’s International Realty, chart from TradingView.com