Ethereum NFTs decline, Bitcoin NFTs rise
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Ethereum NFTs decline, Bitcoin NFTs rise
Who Will Lead NFTs into the Future: Ethereum or Bitcoin?
Navigating Web3 tides with focused insightsAuthors: Peng Yong, Block Unicorn
In 2021, within the Web3 industry, NFTs were often hailed as a digital asset renaissance, sparking a wave of fusion between digital art and cryptographic technology. This attracted both digital artists and traditional artists into the innovative tide of Web3, bringing new possibilities to the NFT art domain.
That year marked an explosive narrative around NFTs. From February 25 to March 11, history witnessed an epic beginning: the most famous NFT artwork ever created—Beeple’s "Everydays: The First 5000 Days"—was auctioned at Christie's, selling for 42,329 ETH (worth $69.34 million at the time).
The staggering price shocked everyone. Could a single image really be worth $69.34 million? This triggered profound global reflection on the digital art market. Since then, news of this NFT auction has spread worldwide, igniting widespread interest in NFTs and making people eager to own one themselves.
NFTs Take Root on Ethereum
On the fertile ground of Ethereum, NFTs took root and flourished, becoming a shining gem in the blockchain space. Ethereum’s smart contract functionality provided a solid technical foundation for NFT development, enabling digital assets to exist uniquely and irreplaceably on the blockchain.
Launched in May 2017, CryptoPunks emerged as one of the pioneers of NFTs. With their historic and distinctive punk pixel-style avatars, they were initially distributed for free to users with Ethereum addresses. These pixelated figures are not only emblematic of NFT art but also trailblazers for the future potential of NFTs. The success of CryptoPunks injected new vitality into the NFT market, attracting celebrities such as rapper Jay-Z (Shawn Carter), football player Odell Beckham Jr., and FaZe Banks, co-founder of an esports empire, triggering the first wave of celebrity-driven fascination with NFTs.
Ethereum's NFT market began expanding from CryptoPunks into diverse areas including crypto art, virtual real estate, identity credentials, and event tickets. Artists used NFTs on Ethereum to showcase and sell their works, while digital collectors acquired unique digital assets through this platform. The formation of this ecosystem laid the groundwork for NFT prosperity on Ethereum.
As the NFT market continues to evolve, Ethereum—as its primary supporting network—will continue to witness the emergence of more innovative NFT projects and crypto artworks, fueling anticipation for future exploration and innovation in the NFT space.
The Rise and Fall of Ethereum NFTs
After CryptoPunks, we saw even more radical NFT projects that further expanded Ethereum's influence—most notably Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC), Azuki, Doodles, DeGods, and others.
Rise
When discussing the true rise of Ethereum NFTs, we must mention BAYC, which played the most pivotal role in advancing the NFT movement. The late surge of Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) marked a peak in the Ethereum NFT landscape. Dubbed the “King of NFTs,” BAYC is more than just a collection of unique NFTs—it represents a revolution in NFT art.
BAYC’s success lies not only in the art itself but also in its masterful social media marketing strategy. Discussions and shares about BAYC exploded overnight across social platforms, capturing global attention. Justin Bieber, Neymar Jr., Snoop Dogg, Madonna, Shaquille O’Neal, Eminem, Jimmy Fallon—and business leaders across industries—all acquired Bored Ape NFTs. Sports stars, entertainment icons, and corporate titans brought unprecedented visibility to NFTs and BAYC, creating vast room for expansion within the BAYC empire.
After reaching the throne as the King of NFTs, on March 24, 2022, BAYC’s parent company Yuga Labs announced a $450 million funding round at a $4 billion valuation—the largest financing event in NFT history. Top-tier investors participated, led by a16z, with Animoca Brands, Google Ventures, Tiger Global, Coinbase Ventures, Adidas Ventures, and others joining.
Following the fundraising, Yuga Labs aggressively acquired NFT pioneer CryptoPunks, cementing BAYC’s status as a super giant in the NFT industry.
BAYC’s ambitions grew bolder. CEO Nicole Muniz declared plans to build a “Disney on-chain” on their new project Otherside, where anyone could create rides and attractions within this chain-based metaverse and own these community virtual assets. Using ApeCoin on Otherside would grant certain privileges.
Fall
When these grand visions failed to materialize, BAYC’s NFTs, token (APE), Otherside land, and game player counts plummeted, becoming increasingly fragile and drawing public skepticism.
The Bored Ape (BAYC) floor price started declining amid criticism—from a high of 153.7 ETH down to 27.79 ETH today, representing an 82% drop from its all-time high. BAYC’s APE token has similarly fallen from a peak of 28 USDT to 1.7 USDT, a 93% decline.
Although BAYC’s downturn hasn’t diminished long-term expectations for Ethereum NFTs, cracks have begun forming between other NFT projects and their communities.
Doodles
This rift began with Doodles. On March 26 this year, Doodles founder Jordan Castro announced via the official Discord that Doodles would transition from an “NFT project” into a leading media franchise company. Castro stated that focusing too much on speculation hinders long-term vision and that no resources would be spent appeasing economically motivated NFT holders; instead, efforts would focus on loyal supporters.
NFT projects typically advocate decentralization principles and are built collectively via DAOs. However, Doodles’ founder unilaterally decided to shift a decentralized NFT project into a centralized media franchise—a move contrary to original decentralized ideals.
Once transformed into a franchised company, Doodles can exclude community members entirely from economic benefits and ignore incentives for NFT holders. The transformation decision was made without community discussion or governance procedures, placing full control in the hands of the founder rather than shared ownership with the community. Naturally, Doodles NFT holders began dumping their tokens, plunging the project into crisis.
Azuki
After BAYC, Azuki was seen as a vibrant, creative NFT community that grew rapidly. In crypto Twitter circles, Azuki profile pictures became ubiquitous, rivaling BAYC and CryptoPunks. Much of this momentum stemmed from its experienced founder, zagabond, who had previously launched three NFT projects—all of which ended in rug pulls—giving him deep operational experience in the NFT space.
When launching Azuki, he seemed fully in control. The Azuki NFT floor price soared, earning it recognition as a beacon of hope during bear markets. Riding this momentum, on June 27, the Azuki team launched a new series called Elementals—10,000 NFT avatars sold via Dutch auction. Azuki and BEANZ holders paid a 2 ETH deposit, with refunds issued based on the final auction price difference. All 10,000 NFTs sold out in just 15 minutes, generating 20,000 ETH (~$38 million).
The Azuki team walked away with 20,000 ETH pulled directly from the NFT market. But recipients soon discovered the NFT images were low-quality, nearly indistinguishable from the original Azuki collection yet priced at only 2 ETH—sparking outrage and backlash from the community.
The team’s actions were deeply disappointing—repurposing uninspired, subpar NFTs and reselling them to loyal community members shattered confidence in the Ethereum NFT space. This caused top-tier NFT prices to accelerate downward, with negative sentiment spreading even to NFTs on other blockchains.
Community members recalled the past: Azuki’s founder had previously abandoned three NFT projects.
DeGods
DeGods originated as an NFT project on Solana before migrating to Ethereum’s Polygon network. After Azuki’s letdown, DeGods briefly restored some confidence amid a collapsing NFT market, seeing its NFT floor price surge逆势 to 9 ETH and earning the title of top-tier blue-chip NFT on Solana.
Yet the once-popular DeGods eventually followed Azuki’s path. In August this year, it released a new NFT series using unimaginative edits and modifications, simply repackaging and reselling them to the NFT community.
Summary: These projects led Ethereum NFTs from inception to prominence, introducing innovative applications—but ultimately dragged them into decline. During the NFT market slump, some even proclaimed “NFTs are dead,” sparking significant industry debate. It raises a critical question: Can Ethereum NFTs truly lead the way forward?
Once glorious, Ethereum NFTs now face decline—while Bitcoin NFTs are emerging, ready to take flight.
The Rise of Bitcoin NFTs
In the NFT market, Bitcoin NFT flagship project Bitcoin Frogs showed strong momentum in November 2021. Its trading volume repeatedly surpassed the renowned Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC), reaching a single-day high of $4.7 million—compared to BAYC’s peak of $2.6 million.
While BAYC’s trendline remained flat, appearing lifeless, Bitcoin Frogs demonstrated aggressive performance, frequently outpacing BAYC’s volume. This trend signals growing investor interest in Bitcoin NFTs and suggests Bitcoin Frogs could surpass BAYC to become the new favorite in the Bitcoin NFT space.
Data source: cryptoslam, Bitcoin Frogs
Data source: cryptoslam, Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC)
Background of Ordinals
Everything about Bitcoin NFTs begins with the Ordinals protocol. Invented in December 2022 by Casey Rodarmor, the protocol enables the creation of NFT art on Bitcoin by inscribing all NFT data onto individual satoshis (the smallest unit of Bitcoin). The birth of the Ordinals protocol inspired domo—the creator of BRC20—to develop the BRC20 token standard (inscriptions), unlocking infinite possibilities for the Bitcoin network.
Initially, few noticed the existence of Ordinals. But in February this year, an NFT project called BitcoinShrooms used its Discord community to attract investors bidding on the Bitcoin auction platform Scarce.City. One item was bid up to 2.5 BTC (then worth $60,000), though the sale was later canceled for unknown reasons and eventually moved to Sotheby’s.
Perhaps due to this February auction event, people began experimenting with the Ordinals protocol to build NFTs on the Bitcoin network.
By April this year, Unisat launched a wallet and marketplace natively supporting the minting and trading of Bitcoin Ordinals NFTs and BRC20 tokens, reigniting excitement and accelerating the mainstream adoption of Bitcoin NFTs.
After a quiet period following the April–May boom, OKX Wallet’s smooth user experience and robust support for Bitcoin NFTs breathed new life into the ecosystem. This resurgence hints that Bitcoin NFTs may have a brighter future than Ethereum NFTs, for three key reasons:
1. Fair Distribution, No Reserved Allocations
Bitcoin NFTs offer a more attractive distribution mechanism compared to traditional Ethereum NFT models. For example, OG NFTs on Bitcoin like Bitcoin Frogs were launched at the end of February this year, allowing everyone equal access to minting. With a total supply of 10,000 and no reserved allocations, participation required only gas fees—no additional purchase costs.
This fair distribution eliminates entry barriers inherent in traditional NFTs, enabling broader participation in minting and creation. Low-barrier access helps foster a more inclusive and diverse NFT community on Bitcoin.
In contrast, Ethereum NFTs follow the old ERC-20 token issuance model, where issuers set initial prices rather than letting the market determine value.
2. Fully Community-Driven IP
Ethereum NFT projects are typically led by companies with clear visions and commercial goals. These entities define roadmaps, direct development strategies, and hold intellectual property rights. They play crucial roles in design, launch, and promotion, retaining full IP control.
Classic examples include CryptoPunks, BAYC, Azuki, and Doodles—all of whose IPs are owned by centralized companies. Each resale generates royalties for the company, with no benefit to NFT holders. Only NFT owners may have limited or unlimited commercial usage rights. In short, while many Ethereum NFTs appear to practice decentralized governance, actual decisions rest solely with the company—just as Doodles’ founder unilaterally decided to turn it into a media franchise, or how Azuki and Doodles teams launched inferior NFTs without community input or voting.
By comparison, Bitcoin NFT issuance is more transparent and equitable. There are no whitelists, privileges, or team reserves—everyone mints equally. These features strengthen the decentralized governance nature of Bitcoin NFT communities. Issuers impose no IP restrictions or royalty requirements, fully sharing IP rights with all participants. This approach better encourages creators to innovate and promote NFTs freely, truly enabling mass participation.
The business models of Ethereum NFTs versus Bitcoin NFTs represent two distinct governance philosophies: Ethereum leans toward corporate centralization, while Bitcoin emphasizes decentralized governance. This difference affects project direction, community engagement, and openness of governance.
3. Bitcoin NFTs Are Fully On-Chain
Bitcoin NFTs store all information directly on-chain, ensuring data isn't controlled by any centralized server and enhancing security. Centralized servers risk being hacked, shut down, or changing policies. By adopting fully on-chain storage, Bitcoin NFT projects reduce reliance on centralized services and mitigate associated risks.
With fully on-chain storage, anyone can access, verify authenticity, and inspect metadata of Bitcoin NFTs. This transparency reduces trust costs and encourages active community involvement in development and governance.
Blockchain technology offers open data structures—anyone can view, verify, and audit Bitcoin NFT data. This transparency builds trust and drives deeper community engagement.
Conclusion
Despite enduring multiple chaotic market cycles, the massive Ethereum NFT ecosystem has lost its former vibrancy—yet it remains dominant in the NFT space.
Today, the Bitcoin ecosystem is injecting fresh vitality and opportunity into the NFT market. Witnessing the thriving activity on the Bitcoin network feels surreal. Even without smart contracts, the Bitcoin network now captivates every user and builder, inspiring excitement and passion akin to what Ethereum once evoked.
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