- Ethereum has been ruling the NFT space for years.
- Within months, Bitcoin has swept up the competition to claim the 2nd spot in the industry.
- Will Bitcoin surpass Ethereum?
Ethereum has dominated the NFT space for years, establishing itself as an unwavering force. This dominance sparked competition among networks like Polygon, Solana, and Cardano, each aiming for the top spot. Little did they anticipate Bitcoin, which has recently shaken the foundations of the NFT industry with its unexpected entry.
Bitcoin, the reigning king of cryptocurrencies, has swiftly ascended the charts in just a few months, emerging as a genuine threat to Ethereum’s long-standing supremacy in the NFT industry.
The Bitcoin NFT Storm
Bitcoin NFTs have taken the industry by storm, propelling the network to secure the second spot for NFT sales per blockchain in the past 30 days, according to data aggregator CryptoSlam. What’s remarkable about this achievement is that Bitcoin NFTs were virtually non-existent before the introduction of Ordinals in late January.
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In just a few months, CryptoSlam revealed that Bitcoin NFTs amassed an astounding $170 million in sales in May. While Ethereum reigns supreme with $390 million in recorded NFT sales in the same period, Bitcoin has outperformed competitors such as Solana and Cardano, boasting nearly three times larger sales. Solana and Cardano reported $56 million and $7 million in NFTs sales in May, respectively. Conversely, users sold over $42.6 million worth of Bitcoin NFTs just last week.
The ongoing Ordinals craze has fueled Bitcoin’s rise to prominence in the NFT space. At press time, the network hosted nearly 9 million inscriptions and collected over $41 million in total fees. Although the Ordinals craze has inadvertently led to unprecedented issues, they are showing no signs of slowing down. Especially with NFT giants like Yuga Labs and others launching their own Ordinals experiments to capitalize on the current hype.
As the network solves its ongoing issues and focuses on being a competitive financial system, Bitcoin’s rise in network activity suggests it could soon flip Ethereum.
Will Bitcoin Surpass Ethereum?
Both Bitcoin and Ethereum are in a captivating race to dominate the NFT industry. While Ethereum has held a firm grip on the sector since 2017, it has notably struggled to handle the rising adoption of NFTs, leading to issues like exorbitant gas fees and network congestion, allowing Bitcoin to step up to the plate.
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However, Bitcoin has also faced its fair share of problems handling the ongoing Ordinals craze. Over 200,000 unconfirmed transactions linger in the network’s mempool, awaiting confirmation. Additionally, the network also experienced a surge in fees similar to Ethereum.
Leading to the paradigm, the network that successfully addresses its scalability issues will rule the NFT industry. This is why both the Bitcoin and Ethereum developer communities are actively working towards finding innovative solutions to overcome their inherent issues.
Ethereum recently introduced a new and more scalable NFT standard, ERC-6551, while Bitcoin Lightning network developers have released a new update to take NFT transactions and asset creation off-chain.
As the competition between the two powerhouses intensifies, the evolution of their respective networks will play a crucial role in determining their success in the NFT industry.
On the Flipside
- Recently, Ethereum gas prices went to levels not seen since May 2022 because of the ongoing meme coin PEPE mania. Network gas prices have been averaging at over 100 gwei.
- One user paid 64 ETH in gas fees for a single transaction, equivalent to $120,000, due to recent Ethereum network congestion.
Why This Matters
Bitcoin has evolved from being solely used as a store of value. The network is ushering in a new era of NFTs and assets, and its current ranking is evidence of the rising interest in Bitcoin’s new direction.
Read more about Bitcoin:
DailyCoin Regular: Bitcoin Price Updates, Breakdowns, and ProjectionsÂ
Read more about Ordinals:
How Bitcoin BRC Tokens Exploded into a $1B Market Cap Amid ListingsÂ
