The Bitcoin network is breaking records beyond its native asset, BTC, hitting prices unseen by other cryptos. It is now a top three NFT ecosystem by sales generated through all-time sales volumes, hitting $4,271,928,280 and pushing the Ronin chain down to the fourth spot.
As protocols like Ordinals and Rune bring new use cases to the legacy chain, Bitcoin has transformed into an established NFT ecosystem. Enthusiasts take to the first-ever blockchain in droves to get their hands on NFTs, letting it outperform its counterparts that offered NFTs long before Bitcoin.
Ethereum, the network where NFTs first saw light, leads every blockchain by sales volumes for this asset type, valued at $43,861,912,400. Solana takes the runner-up spot with $5,603,556,704. Ronin, the chain in third place until Bitcoin took over, recorded $4,271,677,108.
In just the past month, NFT trading on Bitcoin accounted for about $148 million, trailing behind Ethereum’s $157 million but outperforming Solana, which recorded $77 million.
Bitcoin’s rise in the NFT sphere is commendable, but the utility of its NFTs is limited. Unlike other chains supporting applications like gaming, where NFTs find crucial implementations, Bitcoin cannot do the same. Its design does not support dApps and smart contracts. Moreover, NFTs on it see deployment differently than on other networks. So, these assets remain tradeable commodities that derive value through hype.
On the other hand, Ronin integrates the asset type into gaming, backing NFT value through gameplay and in-game mechanisms. Axie Infinity, one of the most popular on-chain games deployed on Ronin, utilizes NFT collectibles by letting them derive value through gameplay. Beyond that, other applications capitalize on NFT capabilities and utilize its versatile functionality to back their NFTs with factors more than hype. NFTs on Bitcoin do not have that option, yet.
Image by Pete Linforth from Pixabay
