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While Bitcoin prices reject bearish pressure, another historic shift is taking place in the world of non-fungible tokens (NFTs). According to an analyst at X, Runestone, an NFT collection modeled on Bitcoin, has recently gained popularity.
The Rise and Rise of Runestone: A Bitcoin NFT Collection
now supervisor notes Its value is half that of flipping one of the most valuable collectibles on Ethereum, CryptoPunks. This emerging trend, the “orange wave,” signals a potential shift in the NFT landscape that will strengthen Bitcoin’s position.
Bitcoin is the most valuable coin by market cap ahead of Ethereum. However, despite its huge valuation, the coin has lagged behind in other areas due to its inherent lack of capability for smart contracts.
This is where Ethereum shines, as seen in the many innovations it has launched over the past few years, such as decentralized finance (DeFi), gaming, NFTs, and more.
For example, the success of DeFi protocols like Uniswap or Maker, and the wild popularity of NFT collectibles like CryptoPunks and Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC), are evidence of Bitcoin's role in this sector. However, this is about to change as innovators look to take advantage of Bitcoin’s security and broad base to launch DeFi protocols and even NFT collections.
According to the analyst, Runestone currently has a total value locked (TVL) of more than $731 million, almost double that of BAYC. This is half of CryptoPunks, but given its rapidly growing popularity, it could close the gap with the most valuable collection in Ethereum.
Runestone is an open-source protocol. This collection was created to reward participants who participated in the first year of the Ordinals Protocol.
So far, CoinGecko data shows That 112,400 NFTs have been created and distributed to 76,972 addresses. The minimum price for a Runestone NFT at spot rates is around $6,500. However, as demand increases, prices are likely to increase further, bringing the total TVL to $1 billion.
Runes Incoming: Will This Be a Game Changer?
Given the success of Runestone NFTs, more collectibles are likely launched on Bitcoin following the anticipated launch of Runes in the next few days.
Runes, a new standard, will aim to improve the current BRC-20 standard by allowing the issuance of alternative tokens on Bitcoin. This development could open up more opportunities for developers to launch new solutions taking advantage of Bitcoin's improved security.
Regardless of the rise of crypto property in 2021, the worth of NFT collectibles has decreased over the previous two years. Different high-value collectibles on BAYC, CryptoPunks and NFTs declined by greater than 50%, which was worsened by the comparatively excessive value of minting on Ethereum.
Moreover, the rise of meme cash diverted consideration away from NFT buying and selling as merchants struggled to catch the subsequent massive meme coin wave launching on Solana, Ethereum, Avalanche, and even Ethereum layer-2 protocols .
Function picture from Canva, chart from TradingView