The Next Step in the Bitcoin Ecosystem: A Review of Popular Metaverse and GameFi Projects
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The Next Step in the Bitcoin Ecosystem: A Review of Popular Metaverse and GameFi Projects
As an ecosystem with tremendous potential, BTC should take diverse forms, including but not limited to inscriptions, NFTs, DEXs, cross-chain solutions, and more. GameFi should be one of the key categories in its next phase.
Navigating Web3 tides with focused insightsBy: Real Player DAO
The recent surge in inscriptions has fully demonstrated the potential and broad community foundation of the Bitcoin ecosystem. Compared to other public blockchains, the Bitcoin ecosystem holds immense intrinsic value due to its foundational asset—Bitcoin.
As a high-potential ecosystem, its forms should be diverse, including but not limited to inscriptions, NFTs, DEXs, cross-chain solutions, etc. GameFi should be one of the key categories in its next phase.
Over the past six months, the development of GameFi has sufficiently proven that it is no longer a hollow concept or mere gambling—it has evolved into genuinely playable games with solid entertainment value. Projects like Seraph and numerous upcoming titles are evidence of this shift.
In fact, several games or similar projects have already emerged within the Bitcoin ecosystem and deserve our attention. However, they are still at a very early stage and remain few in number. To enrich this article and draw from GameFi's experiences in the Ethereum ecosystem, we have also included certain land-based metaverse projects in our research scope.
This article aims to compile and overview these projects while offering speculation on the future development path of GameFi within the Bitcoin ecosystem.
Bitmap
Bitmap claims to be the first metaverse project in the Bitcoin ecosystem, initially proposed by Twitter user @blockamoto on June 13, 2023, and later covered and promoted by some media outlets.
Bitmap is built upon Ordinals Theory and Bitmap Theory.
Ordinals Theory assigns serial numbers to satoshis—the smallest unit of Bitcoin—and defines their scarcity. This can be visualized as each "satoshi" being a uniquely numbered box whose rarity is determined by its creation time, capable of storing data.
Bitmap Theory maps each transaction input within a Bitcoin block into a parcel (or plot), forming districts or neighborhoods. Differences in transaction input sizes result in varying parcel sizes.
According to Bitmap Theory, parcels should be derived from transactions; however, most investors interpret Bitmap through the lens of Sandbox or Decentraland, purchasing land via inscription methods to write data into satoshis and claim ownership over specific Bitcoin blocks—akin to free minting.
Since its launch, Bitmap has shown decent market performance. After months of dormancy, its floor price climbed to 0.002 BTC by December 2023, more than tenfold higher than its August price. Currently, there are 820,000 Bitmap plots in circulation. At current floor prices, the project’s total value exceeds 1,600 BTC. Meanwhile, the number of unique addresses holding Bitmap plots surpasses 27,000. Bitmap plots are now featured on Magic Eden’s trending list.
Bitmap is progressing in this direction. The BRC-420 protocol, an asset standard based on Bitmap, enables combining multiple inscriptions into complex assets, creating everything from small characters and pets to full game scripts and virtual machines.
However, so far we haven’t seen any mature games deployed on the BRC-420 protocol. We will watch this space closely for further developments.
BTC Pixel War
Launched over a month ago, BTC Pixel War is the first recursive inscription game on Ordinals.
Games like Pixel War have had successful precedents in Web2, notably gaining popularity on Reddit in 2017. On April Fool's Day that year, Reddit launched a feature called Place—a massive blank canvas where each user could place one colored pixel every 10 minutes (later reduced to 5 minutes).
This event functioned as a multiplayer online game, perfectly aligning with Reddit’s user base, quickly attracting tens of thousands of concurrent participants and widespread engagement.
The process generated many fascinating stories and artworks, culminating in a 10K high-definition “art piece.”
The logic behind the Ordinals-based Pixel War is largely similar but uses on-chain minting with rewards distributed via tokens and NFTs.
After connecting their wallet on the official website, users can select pixels to color on the canvas or use drawing tools or bots to create images. Since players are engaged in a pixel war, they can overwrite any pixel during strategic play or creative processes.
If satisfied with their creation, users can submit it and follow instructions to complete the purchase using their BTC wallet.
Pixel War consists of 2.1 million pixels, each priced at 0.000033 BTC—approximately $1.45 at current BTC rates.
Larger designs require more pixels and thus higher costs, leading to guild modes where groups collectively fund and create artworks.
Pixel War offers a comprehensive reward system involving both tokens and NFTs. Each submitted pixel earns the user 10 $BPIX tokens, resulting in a total supply of 21 million $BPIX. Additionally, users receive a BTCNFT capturing a snapshot of their submission.
Overall, the project provides ample speculative incentives. However, after more than a month, promotional results have been lackluster. As of December 8, only 220,000 out of 2.1 million pixels had been claimed—far below expectations.
Regarding Pixel War’s future, I remain skeptical in the short term. Such projects are rare in the crypto space and may struggle to gain broad community support. That said, positive price movements in the token or NFTs could generate some favorable momentum within the game itself.
Bitmap Valley
During our research, we noticed another relatively low-key game: Bitmap Valley. Judging by its name alone, it appears closely related to Bitmap and belongs to the same category of metaverse/GameFi projects.
Users can visit play.bitmapvalley.com to experience the initial version of the game, which currently allows basic navigation and interaction with objects. According to project descriptions, Valley integrates socializing, entertainment, gaming, and NFTs. Players can even play Super Mario on in-game arcade machines or connect their YouTube accounts to TVs to watch videos. Specific features await discovery through gameplay.
The founder of Bitmap Valley is known on X (formerly Twitter) as IMSO (Solana Chris), who is also the creator of the IMSO project—an initiative focused on converting 2D items into 3D visuals and developing cross-chain games. Currently, Bitmap Valley lacks independent social media channels and primarily relies on Chris’s personal Twitter for updates.
Chris has also issued an inscription token, $EVLV, for the game. According to his statements, $EVLV serves as a base currency that can be exchanged for tokens and permanent items within Bitmap Valley.
According to OKX data, $EVLV has a total supply of 75 million. Its current price is 12 sats, only slightly up from the initial 5 sats, with a peak of 26 sats on December 8. Over the past 17 days, total trading volume reached 5.13 BTC.
Ordz Games
Ordz also claims to be the first GameFi project in the Bitcoin ecosystem, launching in March this year with two rounds of free mints and BRC-20 token rewards held that month.
Ordz games are simple HTML files that users can directly access via inscription explorers. The gameplay is fairly traditional—the first title being the classic Tank Battle, followed by a series of mini-games reminiscent of “Sheep No.1,” spaceship shooters, and others.
Players earn points each season by playing games and can later redeem them for $OG$ tokens.
According to OKX market data, the floor price for $OG$ is 600 sats, with a total market cap of approximately $5.46 million.
The Ordz Heroes NFT collection has a total supply of 3,300, with a floor price of 0.0055 BTC on Magic Eden.
The OG Cartridge gaming card has a limited supply of only 105 units, currently priced at a floor of 0.0626 BTC on Magic Eden.
To participate in the new season of Ordz, players must own an Ordz Hero and stake OG tokens in the game, with winners claiming all staked tokens.
Predictions for GameFi in the Bitcoin Ecosystem
1/ Currently, the spotlight in the Bitcoin ecosystem remains largely centered on inscriptions, indicating it is still in a relatively early phase. While GameFi has attracted significant attention, it too remains in a nascent state. Several metaverse/GameFi projects have yet to demonstrate compelling capabilities—some netizens even jokingly refer to Ordz games as relics from 40 years ago.
2/ Nevertheless, the potential of GameFi in the Bitcoin ecosystem is undeniable, given the vast underlying asset base and strong community enthusiasm. The emergence of these projects proves that teams are actively exploring and investing in this direction—though GameFi development inherently requires extended timelines.
3/ Beyond inscriptions, the flourishing growth of various Layer2 solutions and sidechains within the Bitcoin ecosystem is laying the groundwork for GameFi’s next stage of evolution.
4/ Given the NFT-like nature of inscriptions, GameFi represents an inevitable—and positively so—next step for the Bitcoin ecosystem, especially the inscription ecosystem. GameFi is no longer a scam; some existing projects already exhibit convincing quality and promise.
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