Auction giant Sotheby’s sold “inscriptions” created using the Bitcoin blockchain’s Ordinals protocol for the first time in an auction that ended on the 13th. It was exhibited from a collection of pixel art known as “Bitcoin Shrooms,” and raised approximately $450,000 (approximately 63 million yen, equivalent to 140 yen to the dollar), five times the highest expected winning bid. It could be indicative of mainstream enthusiasm for tradable digital images called “NFTs on the Bitcoin blockchain.”

Sotheby’s spokesman Derek Parsons said the pixelated avocado sold for more than $100,000 and the mushroom from the Super Mario series sold for more than $240,000. Three images including the design were exhibited. There were a total of 148 bids on the three items, with more than two-thirds of all bidders being new entrants to Sotheby’s.

“We have further plans in the near future,” Parsons said in an email.

Ordinals subscription popularity

The results are reminiscent of the frenzy that gripped the digital asset market several years ago when digital art and NFTs first started attracting eye-popping sums and capturing mainstream attention. An NFT by artist Beeple has sold for $69 million at auction house Christie’s. However, many of those collections were built on the Ethereum blockchain.

Introduced on the Bitcoin blockchain late last year using new technology developed by Casey Rodarmor, Ordinals’ inscriptions have become popular enough to cause congestion and soaring fees this year.

There is a heated debate between Bitcoin users and developers over whether to filter NFT-like “inscription” transactions issued using Ordinals. This is because it is not a core financial use in line with many proponents’ vision for the original blockchain.

So the idea that some images might be considered high art could tip the debate in favor of profit.

According to Sotheby’s website, the three digital images are from BitcoinShrooms, a collection of Ordinals inscriptions by an artist using the pseudonym Shroomtoshi.

The avocado pixel art known as “BIP39 SEED” was originally expected to sell for $20,000 to $30,000, but ultimately sold for $101,600.

｜Translation and editing: Rinan Hayashi
｜Image: Bitcoinshrooms.com
｜Original text: ‘Bitcoin NFT’ Hysteria Comes to Sotheby’s as Super-Mario-Style Mushroom Character Tops $200K