Bitcoin Art: 13 Artists & Collections You Should Know

Bitcoin art has become an essential part of Bitcoin culture, thanks to the emergence of crypto collectibles and digital art secured by Bitcoin. 

In this guide, you will discover the talented artists and prominent collections contributing to the Bitcoin NFT ecosystem in their own creative ways. 

What Is Art on Bitcoin?

Art lives on Bitcoin as non-fungible tokens (NFTs) either inscribed on the base layer using the Ordinals protocol or minted on Bitcoin layers like Stacks. 

An NFT is a unique digital asset representing ownership of virtual items like in-game skins, digital art, photographs, videos, music, or real-world assets (RWAs) like real estate and sports collectibles. 

One of the most popular use cases of NFTs is digital art. 

The first Bitcoin art NFTs emerged in 2016 before the term “NFT” was coined when the Rare Pepes 36-series collection was launched. This collection was built on Counterparty and consisted of funny images inspired by the Pepe the Frog meme. 

Rare Pepe depictions span diverse categories, such as prominent figures, crypto, hip hop, Japanese, comic books, Pokemon, gaming, and politics.

Art NFTs that followed after 2016 were primarily minted on Ethereum, which led to the NFT hype of 2021.  

However, development in the Bitcoin ecosystem has brought NFTs back to Bitcoin over the last few years, and now the Ordinals protocol is enabling Bitcoin-native digital art NFTs, also known as inscriptions or digital artifacts. 

From Generative Art to Meme-Inspired Wizards: Here’s What Type of Art You Can Find on Bitcoin

Bitcoin artists have dropped a broad spectrum of digital art on Bitcoin thanks to the emergence of the Ordinal protocol. 

Presently, some of the top Ordinals NFT collections in the market are BTC DeGods, Ordinalz Maxi Biz (OMB), On Chain Monkey (OCM) Dimensions, Taproot Wizards, and Bitcoin Punks, which we highlight below. 

DeGods are a Bitcoin NFT collection that provides “a deflationary collection of degenerates, punks, and misfits. Gods of the metaverse & masters of our own universe.”

It was created by Rohun Vora (Frank Degods) and Kevin Herikson (Kevin Degod) and has a total of 8,927 NFTs minted at the time of writing.

‍Ordinalz Maxi Biz (OMB) is an Ordinals NFT collection featuring sketched figures with different colored eyes, each figure having its own unique traits. The collection was a collaborative effort between zk shark, Nullish, and Tonny Tafuro. Currently, there are 2,100 OMBs available for purchase. 

‍OCM Dimensions is a collection of 3D generative art rendered from code by NFT company Metagood. The first mint was composed of 300 NFTs and is the first recursive ordinal inscriptions-based digital art collection. 

‍Taproot Wizards are a collection of 2,106 wizards drawn with different attributes that are unique to each NFT. The collection was created by Eric Wall and Udi Wertheimer and pays homage to Bitcoin being ‘magical internet money.’

‍Bitcoin Punks have been termed as “the first byte-perfect uploads of the original Ethereum CryptoPunks onto the Bitcoin Blockchain using Ordinal theory.” They are modeled after the original CryptoPunks collection but on the Bitcoin blockchain. When Bitcoin Punks launched, it was the first Bitcoin NFT collection with 10,000 items.

BTC Machines, a household name among ordinal enthusiasts, pioneered the airdrop meta by distributing over 250,000 ordinals to the Ordiverse. In less than a year, BTC Machines established themselves as a unique Bitcoin-native global brand, creating over 30 impressive art collections, developing an innovative MMORPG project called Satoria, music releases, IRL meetups and fostering a vibrant community of over 40,000 members.

In addition to the wide range of art NFT drops you can find in the Bitcoin ecosystem, there are also individual Bitcoin artists who are making waves. Let’s look at some of the most prominent ones next. 

Notable Bitcoin Artists Making Waves in the Digital Art Scene

The following Bitcoin artists all showcased their pieces at Ordinals Alley during the Bitcoin Miami 2023 Conference in May.

Billy Restey

Billy Restey is a digital artist from Seattle with four Bitcoin Ordinals collections trading on Magic Eden and Gamma. These collections include Metablocks, Cypherglyphs, Ordinal Shards, and Striations, each with a total supply of 400, 256, 100, and 3 inscriptions. 

Out of the four collections, Cypherglyphs has the highest trading volume, which currently stands at 9.9 BTC. Restey specializes in AI, generative, and 3D art.

CVR 

CVR is a pseudonymous digital artist who draws inspiration from sketches in the art movements of realism, classic doodles, surrealism, and line art. She has three Ordinal collections on Gamma, namely CVR Heds, Understanding, and Zapepen. Moreover, she contributes her skills to the Counterfeit Culture, a Bitcoin art Ordinals project with three collections.

The CVR Heds collection has 21 NFTs while Understanding and Zapepen have 5 and 21 Bitcoin inscriptions each. CVR Heds is the most successful of the three, with a trading volume of 0.09 BTC. 

Eleven

Eleven is a Germany-based NFT artist and graphic designer with a Bitcoin Ordinals collection called Lost in Yesterday. She uses the minimalism and surrealism art styles and draws inspiration from 80s sci-fi art and Japanese animation.

Lost in Yesterday is a collection of four digital artifacts, although only one is featured on Gamma. It has attracted a volume of 0.04 BTC. 

FAR

Francisco Alarcon (FAR) is an artist focused on visual arts and computer visualizations. He is also a Wizard on the Taproot Wizards Ordinals project.

FAR has minted Infinites AI + IRL (initially generated on Ethereum) and Umwelt AI on Bitcoin. Infinites AI is a collection of 512 NFTs, while Infinites Real Life (IRL) consists of 1024 art pieces. Both collections are trading on OpenSea.

On the other hand, Umwelt AI is a collection of 512 AI-generated art trading on OrdinalHub. Although the trading volume isn’t indicated, the most expensive Umwelt inscription is listed for 1 BTC. 

Below are some of the digital artifacts from the Umwelt collection.

FiatFire

FiatFire is an AI and conceptual artist based in New York. His work seeks to inspire critical thinking about money and its impact on civilizations. So far, FiatFire has created one Ordinal inscription titled Tricky Dick. It is listed on Gamma for 40,000 satoshis ($10.29). 

Ticklish

Ticklish is a British artist specializing in both digital and analog art. He has designed two Ordinal inscriptions listed on Gamma. The NFTs “Franklin of Mega-City” and “Still Thinking About It” are listed for 40,000 ($10.49) and 60,000 ($15.73) satoshis each.

Ticklish is also one of the feature artists on Blitkin, an NFT project comprising 100-pixel art pieces on Bitcoin. 

Paweł Dudko

Paweł Dudko is a generative and interactive artist from Poland. He leverages algorithmic code and his architectural background to design unique artwork. Dudko has minted four collections on the Bitcoin blockchain.

Mycelioid is an ongoing art project set to have 128 generated inscriptions. The other two collections, Rays and MemFlux, are fully minted. Each batch has 128 and 256 art pieces. The final collection, Gleam, is still in the works and will contain 100 art designs.

MemFlux has a trading volume of 1.7 BTC on Magic Eden, the highest volume recorded by Dudko’s Bitcoin NFTs. Below are three art pieces from this collection.

‍Xverse is the go-to Bitcoin NFT wallet for both Bitcoin Ordinal inscriptions and Stacks NFTs. Collectors can use Xverse to securely store their collections, while creators can connect it to various NFT marketplaces to inscribe or mint Bitcoin art. 

FAQs

How do you make Bitcoin art? 

You can make Bitcoin art on various NFT platforms depending on the type of NFT you want to create. For example, you can inscribe Ordinals on Magic Eden, Gamma, Unisat, Generative, and Ordswap. Moreover, Stacks NFTs can be minted on Gamma and Boom Money. 

NFT marketplaces play an essential role in the Bitcoin NFT ecosystem since they simplify the creation process. You can create Bitcoin art using a Bitcoin wallet that supports NFTs, such as Xverse, on most of these platforms.

How do I sell my art for Bitcoin?

You can sell art for Bitcoin on NFT marketplaces that support Ordinal inscriptions and Stacks NFTs. Go to Gamma, Magic Eden, Unisat, Ordinals Market, Generative, or Ordswap to list and sell Ordinals NFTs by connecting your Ordinals wallet. Moreover, you can list and sell Stacks NFTs on Tradeport, Stacks Art, Gamma, and SuperFandom by connecting your Stacks wallet.  

You should provide all the details when listing an NFT on any marketplace for sale to potentially increase the chances of it selling.

What is generative art on Bitcoin?

Generative art is work created using algorithmic code or mathematical formulas and then minted on the Bitcoin blockchain. When artists are producing generative art, they establish a set of rules that a computer uses to provide an output. By leveraging computers, artists can generate thousands of ideas in milliseconds, saving time and money. They can also create never-before-seen shapes, forms, and patterns.