KEY POINTS
Non-fungible token (NFTs) marketplace Magic Eden marketplace is once again placing its bets on Bitcoin Ordinals, as it announces plans to support the upcoming Runes fungible token standard on the Bitcoin network.
The announcement came via an (X) Twitter post on Friday, wherein Magic Eden shared a video with the caption “Ordinals, Rewards, Runes.”
Runes is a token standard designed to facilitate the issuance of NFTs on Bitcoin, offering users a streamlined method for creating and trading fungible tokens.
Introduced in September 2023, Runes is the brainchild of developer Casey Rodarmor, the same mind behind the Ordinals Protocol on Bitcoin, which enabled the creation of inscriptions (NFT-like assets) on the Bitcoin network.
The official launch of Runes is slated for April 2024, timed to coincide with the upcoming Bitcoin halving event, occurring every four years. During this event, miner rewards are slashed by 50%, thereby diminishing the supply of Bitcoin and potentially increasing its value.
Magic Eden embarked on its journey with Bitcoin Ordinals in March 2023, launching a Bitcoin marketplace for digital artifacts. It was notably the first such marketplace to be completely audited in the Bitcoin Ordinals ecosystem.
Bitcoin NFTs have seen considerable success since their inception, as evidenced by significant milestones. December 2023 witnessed an all-time high, with record-breaking sales exceeding $881 million for the year.
Recent data underscore the continued momentum of Bitcoin NFTs. Weekly sales surpassed $172 million, surpassing those of Ethereum and Solana at the beginning of the month. Just days ago, Bitcoin-based NFTs surged by an impressive 50% within a 24-hour period, achieving $16 million in sales.
These figures are further bolstered by notable Bitcoin NFT auctions and sales. In February, the Taproot Wizards’ Bitcoin NFT collection, “Quantum Cats,” sold out, generating $12.9 million. Similarly, in January, Sotheby’s concluded its “Natively Digital” Bitcoin NFT sale, amassing over $1 million.
