TL;DR
- Bitcoin Ordinals sales down 61% in January, reaching $335 million from peak of $868 million in December.
- Competition from other blockchains, such as Solana, impacts sales of Bitcoin Ordinals.
- The Dokyo NFT collection on Avalanche stands out with $31.4 million in January, representing 67% of monthly sales.
In January, Bitcoin Ordinals sales saw a sharp 61% drop, falling to $335 million from its peak of $868 million in December, the highest sales month in Ordinals history, according to data compiled by CryptoSlam.
These, which are the first iteration of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) on the Bitcoin network, are affected by the saturation of the NFT market and the appearance of collections on other blockchains.
Anndy Lian, intergovernmental blockchain expert and author of the book “NFT: From Zero to Hero,” notes that the oversupply of new projects and artists has left buyers with an abundance of options.
The growing popularity of other blockchains, such as Solana, has also diverted buyer interest.
Furthermore, the controversial perception of Ordinals in the Bitcoin community, where some consider it similar to spam, has affected its reputation among Bitcoin enthusiasts.
Although monthly NFT sales on Ethereum also decreased 2.2% to $355 million, sales on Avalanche increased 89% to $46.7 million in January, up from $24.7 million in December.
The Dokyo NFT collection on Avalanche was a key player, generating $31.4 million in January, representing 67% of the blockchain’s monthly sales.
This notable growth of Ordinals contrasts with the $7.64 million generated in December
Sebastien Guillemot, co-founder of Paima Studios, mentions that Ordinals interest is shifting towards Bitcoin Layer 2 solutions.
Many developers and investors are moving towards this narrative, especially with the hype around BitVM and OP_CAT.
Despite the decline in sales, the total number of signups on the Bitcoin network continues to grow, surpassing 59 million according to data from Dune.
Ordinals average selling price also fell 25% to $1,340 in January.
However, major cryptocurrency companies such as Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, are showing continued interest by announcing the launch of their Ordinals marketplace on February 1.
Anndy Lian optimistically expects the upcoming Bitcoin halving to revive interest.
The reduction in the supply of Bitcoin could make each satoshi more valuable and scarce, thus increasing the appeal as unique and collectible assets.
Additionally, the halving could increase transaction fees on the Bitcoin network, incentivizing miners to process Ordinals transactions and secure the network.
In the latest edition of the “State of Crypto” report published by 21Shares, the largest provider of cryptocurrency exchange-traded products (ETFs) globally, it is suggested that could offer Bitcoin more use cases, and that innovations such as Ordinals and BRC-20 tokens could drive demand for Bitcoin and expand its use cases on the network.
