Sotheby’s, the renowned auction house, has announced the launch of an auction for a curated collection created on the Bitcoin Ordinals protocol. The auction, titled “Natively Digital: An Ordinals Curated Sale,” features 19 pieces including rare Satoshis, works by pioneering Bitcoin Ordinals artist Shroomtoshi, generative art, and an NFT associated with the Bitcoin Ordinals brand Taproot Wizards.
The auction will run until January 22. Sotheby’s team highlighted the auction’s significance, stating, “This auction shines a light on the incredible creative diversity in the Bitcoin ecosystem, as Ordinals have seen notable growth over the past year.”
Previously, Sotheby’s completed its first Bitcoin Ordinals auction on December 7, featuring three pieces from the BitcoinShrooms collection by Shroomtoshi, recognized as one of the first Bitcoin Ordinals projects. Following the auction, Sotheby’s reported a total earning of $450,850, which was five times higher than the total estimated for the three pieces.
Michael Bouhanna, Sotheby’s Head of Digital Art, commented on the success of the BitcoinShrooms sales as a test step to introduce Ordinals to the auction market. He emphasized the explosive growth of Ordinals as proof of its potential as a new arena for artists and creators to expand access to digital art and collections, leaving a permanent mark on the Bitcoin blockchain network.
The Ordinals protocol, which emerged in 2023 on the 15-year-old Bitcoin blockchain, has attracted significant attention by enabling NFT and token projects to operate on the Bitcoin network through code written on Satoshis, Bitcoin’s smallest unit. Despite criticisms from some Bitcoin investors due to increased transaction fees and network congestion, the Ordinals protocol has successfully built a substantial community.