Taproot Wizards Debut Sale of Bitcoin NFTs ‘Quantum Cats’ Marred by Technical Issues

On Jan 30, 2024

Taproot Wizards‘ much-anticipated Bitcoin Ordinals NFT sale was marred by technical issues on Monday, causing a delay and frustration among users.

Technical Issues Lead to Embarrassing Delay

The sale of around 3,000 digital cats began with a two-hour “whitelist” window at 17:00 UTC (noon ET) on Monday. But due to technical issues, the sale had to be postponed until Tuesday.

According to Taproot Wizards’ official Twitter account, there was an incredible demand for the cats, causing their servers to crash. As a result, around 30% of the cats were minted on Monday, raising nearly 100 BTC ($4.3 million).

MINT POSTPONED!
🐱 WL mint will continue tomorrow, Jan 30, at 12pm-2pm ET
🐱 public mint begins tomorrow, Jan 30, at 3pm ET
🐱 anyone who made a payment today, WILL receive their Quantum Cat on Jan 31
🐱 anyone on the whitelist who wasn’t able to mint, will be able to tomorrow!… pic.twitter.com/hYJOI6RJ1s
— Quantum Cats (@QuantumCatsXYZ) January 29, 2024

High Hopes for Taproot Wizards

The debut sale was highly anticipated, especially after Taproot Wizards raised $7.5 million in a seed funding round in November. The project has been gaining attention for its focus on NFTs on the Ordinals protocol, which have been increasing in popularity.

In fact, just earlier this month, a special image from the Quantum Cats series known as “Genesis Cat” was sold for a whopping $254,000 on the auction house Sotheby’s. This further reflected the high hopes and potential of projects like Taproot Wizards.

Apologies from Co-Founder Udi Wertheimer

As users expressed their frustration and disappointment on social media, co-founder Udi Wertheimer took to Twitter Spaces to apologize for the technical issues. He acknowledged that the experience was not what people were expecting and promised to rectify it.

Wertheimer also mentioned that there had been some glitches during the two-hour whitelist window and apologized for any inconvenience caused. The plan was for the remaining cats to become available for general sale after a one-hour pause post the whitelist window.

Despite the team’s efforts to address the technical issues, complaints continued to fill Taproot Wizards’ Discord channel on Monday. Users were disappointed with the delay and expressed their frustration over not being able to purchase the highly sought-after Quantum Cats.

The Potential of NFTs on Bitcoin

The sale of “Quantum Cats” highlights the growing potential of NFTs on Bitcoin. While most NFTs are currently based on the Ethereum blockchain, projects like Taproot Wizards are focused on bringing NFTs to the Bitcoin network through the Ordinals protocol.

This is a significant step for Bitcoin, which has been considered primarily as a store of value and not known for its ability to support smart contracts and unique digital assets. With the introduction of projects like Taproot Wizards, Bitcoin’s potential as a platform for NFTs is gaining attention.

The Future of Taproot Wizards

Despite the initial setbacks with its debut sale, Taproot Wizards has a promising future. With high-profile investors and successful sales like “Genesis Cat,” the project is well-positioned to continue making strides in the world of NFTs on Bitcoin.

As for the Quantum Cats collection, the remaining cats are expected to be released for general sale soon. And with the hype and demand already seen, it’s likely that they will sell out quickly.

In conclusion, Taproot Wizards’ debut sale of “Quantum Cats” Bitcoin NFTs faced technical issues on Monday, leading to a delay in the sale and frustration among users. However, this setback does not diminish the potential and promise of projects like Taproot Wizards in bringing NFTs to the Bitcoin network.