Deep Dive into Node Monkes: The Potential to Become a Top NFT in the Bitcoin Ecosystem
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Deep Dive into Node Monkes: The Potential to Become a Top NFT in the Bitcoin Ecosystem
Betting with NFTs is the best way, and the best NFTs are Node Monkes.
Navigating Web3 tides with focused insightsWritten by: 0XKYLE
Translated by: TechFlow
One of my most confident recent investments is Node Monkes, a 10k PFP collection on Bitcoin that has captured the attention of top artists like Jack Butcher and Beeple.
While I admit I’ve gone a bit all-in on this bet, I have strong reasons to believe Node Monkes will be one of the best-performing NFTs in this cycle.
You might be skeptical about this trade since it’s an illiquid NFT rather than a liquid altcoin, but my counterargument is that as profit maximizers, we should take any asymmetric bet we see.
But before I pitch my portfolio to you, we must, as first-principles maximizers, dive deep into what constitutes a good NFT.
On NFTs:
I don’t consider myself a great NFT trader, but I do have history in the NFT game—I made my first trade on ETH with a Loot derivative that I paid 0.4 ETH for. Much of my early experience in crypto was in NFTs, so I’m not completely ignorant about it.
NFTs are just less liquid shitcoins. With this analogy, it becomes possible to build a framework around “what makes a good NFT.” So here are what I believe are the most important factors in a good NFT:
Does the collection have a strong narrative from the start?
Yes, even for NFTs, narrative exists. If you were here in the last cycle, you’ll remember we had multiple narratives—pixel art was dominant at one point (Kaijus, Cyberkongs, etc.), then came gaming NFTs (Wolf Game), PFPs (Azuki, CloneX, BAYC), and many others.
Even recently, we just experienced a surge in SOL NFTs as the main narrative on Solana. So for an NFT to gain traction, there must be some form of collective belief formed within the ecosystem. You won’t see AVAX or Tezos NFTs perform well simply because there’s no narrative.
Who are the buyers and sellers?
This is where “community” matters. For an NFT project to succeed, you can’t have people flipping it. Just like how a good token project needs long-term holders instead of people selling at 1.5x, these participants must be long-term believers. Simply put: more buyers than sellers.
But you can go deeper—how do you judge whether an NFT project has a good community? While I can’t offer quantifiable data, several qualitative factors come into play:
Art Quality
Regardless of the type, the art must be decent and not a copy of existing styles. Just as beta versions of shitcoins always underperform, NFTs copying major projects’ art styles (e.g., Ordinal Punks, BTC Degods) are extremely unpopular.
This is especially critical for PFP projects, since PFPs are “social proof of wealth.” Flaunting a replica of a major project is like getting caught renting a Lamborghini for an Instagram photo instead of owning it.
Are whales buying? Are people holding, not flipping?
People love to follow smart money, and in NFTs, nothing signals smart money better than high-value sales. A Golden BAYC sold for $500K? A CryptoPunk for $1M? These sales give collectors a sense of “prestige,” knowing that wealthy individuals value their NFTs.
These high-value sales aren’t limited to rare pieces. For standard PFPs, sales above floor price are one of the best indicators of buyer sentiment. When a PFP consistently sees above-floor purchases, it shows buyers are willing to pay a premium for NFTs they genuinely enjoy.
Do people like this project on social media?
NFTs are an attention game. For PFPs, nothing beats seeing many people proudly displaying your collection. Remember when everyone had an Azuki, or a CryptoPunk, or a Bored Ape? Attention fuels PFPs—you always want to see widespread adoption to ensure lasting appeal.
Can the NFT project survive a downturn?
Like tokens, all NFT projects eventually face a pullback. The post-hype dip is the true test of survival. Many NFTs collapse when attention fades and people rush to exit, but if you have a strong base of true collectors who genuinely love the JPEGs, you’ll see sustained bullish momentum.
Other Factors
Then there are smaller considerations such as:
Team: Are they anonymous? Any red flags in their past?
While there’s no rule saying anonymous developers are worse than doxxed ones, I’ve observed that sometimes not knowing who created a collection helps its performance. I think it’s more of a “tail risk” factor—knowing the artist can backfire if they turn out to be a serial scammer. But not knowing the team doesn’t mean failure is guaranteed. Unless the artist is famous, typically, knowing some random person behind a project doesn’t add much upside.
In this regard, pseudonymity seems preferable.
Catalysts
This is a double-edged sword. Depending on the project, doing nothing might be best—for example, if people collect NFTs purely based on “potential catalysts” rather than liking the art, you can bet prices will drop once the catalyst passes.
There may be many other factors, but these are the ones I consider most important. Now that we know what makes a good NFT project, let’s examine the bull case for Node Monkes.
Send Nodes
Overall Narrative
Just as ETH’s ecosystem exploded in 2021, BTC’s ecosystem boom in 2024 will be undeniable.
When I tell people this, the first reaction I always get is: “Why not SOL? Why BTC?” I believe each chain has its own “vibe.” The best marketing for a chain is price going up.
In 2021, we saw countless tokens and NFTs on ETH just rise. But over the past months, Solana hasn’t seen the same wealth effect—even though SOL has some standout collections, it hasn’t gone absolutely crazy like we often saw on ETH.
I’m not saying SOL is dead or that you haven’t had insane trades (you have—Madlads, Tensorians, WIF, etc.). But Solana shitcoins often peak before hitting $1M market cap, and on Solana, every additional 1 SOL mint gets immediately dumped, etc.
You see the same on Arbitrum—low gas fee chains seem to face identical issues.
But compared to BTC, it lacks the same asymmetry. BTC alone invalidates the argument—it has legacy. It’s the father of all cryptocurrencies. And Bitcoin holders have had little to do on-chain over the past decade, while ETH had its DeFi boom just three years after launch.
I believe BTC’s narrative is far stronger here. There’s so much money in BTC, I find it unimaginable that the BTC ecosystem won’t catch fire. Look at the BTC Degods NFT series—you’ll see people paying 1 BTC for knockoff JPEGs. Insane.
Moreover, bridging, storing, and figuring out how BTC works is a hassle—a good sign that many will dismiss the trade until it’s too late. This reminds me of Canto in 2023, when people thought bridging was too hard, and then Canto NFTs went up 100x.
I simply believe the BTC ecosystem is a persistent narrative with massive upside, and the dominant NFT collection on BTC will undoubtedly be worth hundreds of millions.
Among all NFTs, Node Monkes stands out
First-mover advantage and perfect timing.
Node Monkes was the first original PFP project on Bitcoin. It gained massive hype in its first week, and despite FUD, built a loyal holder base who truly believe in it. Sub-communities have formed around them—a strong signal for long-term holders.
Launching during a bear market would be suicidal for many NFT projects due to lack of liquidity. Launching too early on BTC wasn’t ideal either, but Node Monkes hit the sweet spot—launching when infrastructure existed but before oversaturation.
Few inscriptions
The number of inscriptions matters to Bitcoin purists—many are willing to pay a premium for the first hundred inscriptions. Node Monkes benefits greatly here as the first 10k PFP inscription on Bitcoin.
High Art Quality
Most importantly, among existing collections, Node Monkes is original. Among the top 10 by volume, many are derivatives—BTC Degods, Ordinal Punks, Dogepunks, etc.
Node Monkes put incredible thought into their art—Asic miners as hats, Hoodies and Aliens as nods to CryptoPunks, Gold as a tribute to BAYC, Peer representing “peer-to-peer nodes,” etc. The art quality is exceptionally high, reflected in frequent above-floor trades.
Whales love it
I can’t recall the last time I saw someone spend over $80K on a JPEG. Yet so far, we’ve already had multiple sales exceeding 1 BTC.
Popularity & Reach
Many influencers can be seen holding a Node, with renowned artists like Beeple and Jack Butcher publicly supporting Node Monkes.
They’ve created honorific editions for famous NFT influencers (Claire, etc.).
As mentioned earlier, attention is crucial in the NFT market. Projects live and die by attention—I’ve never seen a valuable PFP project without a vibrant community on Crypto Twitter.
NFTs are easier bets than tokens
Currently, I don’t see a clear leader in the BTC ecosystem. In AI, TAO is the leader; in GameFi, PRIME leads. But BTC has a bunch of “meaningless things” like ORDI, TRAC, MUBI, SATS, etc. While people claim ORDI is the blue chip of Bitcoin’s ecosystem, I believe betting on NFTs is far simpler.
NFTs are easy to understand and serve as a great way for Bitcoin holders to showcase their wealth.
Trading Risks
1. Node Monkes gets overtaken by a new or existing collection
Here’s a competitor analysis:
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BTC Punks: Non-native, derivative
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Onchainmonkeys: 250K inscriptions
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Bitcoin Frogs: Nearly 500K inscriptions
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OMB: Possibly the strongest contender due to its solid community, but ultimately still a punk derivative spread across 14M inscriptions
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Taproot Wizards: Another strong contender due to its founder—I view this as an asymmetric risk/reward bet
Dogepunks: Derivative mashup
2. Node Monkes fails to survive the downturn
When Beeple released his Node Monke artwork, it signaled the top—because at that moment, there were no new buyers. Anyone who didn’t know about Node Monkes now did, and prices began stagnating.
We’re now down over 30% from the all-time high, currently around 0.17 BTC. While I believe the worst of the downturn is behind us (we’ve seen encouraging tweets and attacks on the founders—classic bottom signs), I don’t know what the next upward catalyst will be.
We might stay range-bound for days or weeks, but I believe this builds antifragility—sellers are out: those who wanted to sell have already done so.
What remains are believers in the ecosystem. If Node Monkes sees another rally, I believe it will confirm this is a lasting NFT collection.
Final Thoughts
Overall, I see this trade as having two key aspects:
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The BTC ecosystem is an asymmetric bet
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Betting via NFTs is the best approach, and the best NFT is Node Monkes
I could’ve played it smarter by selling at the Beeple peak and re-entering on confirmation signals instead of holding like a fool, but I’m not that skilled. All I can say is these are my genuine thoughts on Node Monkes—if this article piqued your interest, you might want to keep a close eye on the floor price.
As I said, while I believe the worst is behind us, this quiet period could last from days to weeks and will be a major test for Node Monkes holders.
That’s all—I hope you enjoyed this thesis!
P.S.: If you care about rarity rankings, the rares are: Hoodies / Aliens / Gold
Some cool skins: Ducks / Deathbots / Robots / Crown
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@0xkyle__
