Exploring the Artistic Brilliance: Bitcoin Ordinals Inscription Sale at Sotheby's

The recent sale of a Bitcoin Ordinals inscription from the Quantum Cat project at Sotheby's has garnered significant attention, with the winning bid reaching over $250,000. This particular piece, known as the "Genesis Cat" Ordinals inscription, created by digital artist FAR, received an impressive 50 bids, ultimately selling for 6.31 BTC, equivalent to approximately $254,000.

Key Points:

• The Quantum Cats collection of Bitcoin Ordinals inscriptions was announced earlier this month by Taproot Wizards.
• The collection, consisting of 3,333 images, cost over $66,000 to create on the Bitcoin blockchain.
• The wider sale of the Quantum Cats collection is scheduled for January 29.
• Udi Wertheimer, co-founder of Taproot Wizards, highlighted that the collection pays homage to an early code in the Bitcoin network called concatenate or OP CAT.
• Sotheby's head of digital and contemporary art, Michael Bouhanna, congratulated the artists and collectors involved in the sale, giving a special mention to FAR for their assistance in curating and organizing the event.
• The Natively Digital curated Ordinals sale generated over 26 BTC, valued at around $1,097,000, with 641 bids and all auction lots being sold.
• Bouhanna noted that half of the sale exceeded their high estimates, indicating strong interest and demand in Bitcoin Ordinals.
• While this marks the first Bitcoin Ordinals-centric sale at Sotheby's, the auction house has previously conducted numerous NFT sales on Ethereum, including notable auctions like the sale of an Art Blocks NFT named "The Goose" for $6.2 million last June.

This successful sale not only underlines the growing significance of digital art and NFTs in the art world but also showcases the increasing interest in blockchain-based artworks and collectibles among both artists and collectors.