Knock steps into the NFT Arena on BSV
Twetch is exploring NFTs on the Bitcoin blockchain, looking for partners to replicate the Ethereum NFT scheme and bring its vision to life.
The recent surge of interest in Ordinals NFTs on the Bitcoin blockchain has caught the attention of developers keen to create an ecosystem of meme-themed digital art.
One such developer is Twetch, the team behind a social network on the Bitcoin SV (BSV) blockchain that operates on a “pay-to-earn” model, allowing users to monetize their content. The platform also offers a non-fungible token marketplace, a BSV wallet, and additional features such as a chat function and job board.
Twetch co-founder Billy Rose is excited about the prospect of NFTs joining the Bitcoin trend.
The team, which has been working with blockchain data for the past five years, is eager to get started. The launch of the Ordinals protocol, which stores NFT on the Bitcoin blockchain, has populated Bitcoin blocks with JPEG images, audio files, and text over the past two weeks.
New moves on BSV
While the trend has received mixed reactions from longtime Bitcoin supporters, some of whom view the NFT as a distraction from Bitcoin’s original purpose as a decentralized financial network, Twetch’s link is with BSV, which markets itself as the original Bitcoin and has ties to Craig. Wright, an Australian computer scientist who claims to be Satoshi Nakamoto, the creator of bitcoin, could add another layer of controversy.
Even Ordinals creator Casey Rodarmour expressed reservations about Twetch’s association with BSV, but welcomed their interest in the NFT space. Rodarmor hopes Twetch will eventually build on the Bitcoin blockchain.
The ethereum community has already created a successful blueprint for a thriving NFT ecosystem, with tools like MetaMask, Bored Apes, and OpenSea, and Twetch aims to replicate that success by adopting the same blueprint for the Bitcoin space, now that Ordinals is a hot topic.
Twetch is currently exploring the possibility of raising capital to develop an NFT ecosystem on Bitcoin. CEO Josh Petty says the team is looking for partners or investors who share their passion for having fun with NFTs on the bitcoin network.
It remains to be seen if the Ordinals trend will prove to be a fleeting trend or a more permanent development, but the Twetch team is betting on the latter.
Bitcoin-based NFTs are nothing new
The advent of the Ordinals Protocol has created a growing trend in the Bitcoin space. The data shows that the number of Ordinals on the Bitcoin blockchain is growing steadily and at a great pace. According to data from Dune, nearly 3,300 transactions have been carried out through the protocol.
Many in the bitcoin community have been vocal about their disapproval of Ordinals and its impact on block size and transaction validity. Moreover, the new craze has also caused the average transaction fee on the Bitcoin network to increase.
As such, many have pointed out that the Bitcoin blockchain is not suitable for NFTs.
However, it should be noted that the Bitcoin-based NFT is older than the Ethereum blockchain itself. Created in 2014, Counterparty has been a hugely popular L2 solution for digital assets built on top of the Bitcoin blockchain, providing the basic infrastructure for creating unique tokens on the Bitcoin network.
While it has been overshadowed by Ethereum and other prominent NFT chains in recent years, Counterparty still has a loyal following. It is particularly popular as the home of high-profile assets such as Rare Pepes, which still command high prices on the secondary market.
Another prime example of such a historical asset is Spells of Genesis, which launched in 2015 and was one of the first blockchain-based games to use NFT.
The initial card decks for the game were produced in 2015 using the Counterparty protocol on the Bitcoin blockchain. In 2020, the game and its NFTs underwent a shift to the Ethereum blockchain, which led to a resurgence in its popularity.