he floor price of the prestigious NodeMonkes collection, comprising 10,000 unique NFT profile pictures affiliated with Bitcoin, jumped over 53% to reach 0.82 BTC. This valued each NodeMonkes at around $56,262 based on Bitcoin's price. As a result, NodeMonkes surpassed Pudgy Penguins to attain the second-largest NFT collection market cap on CoinGecko. Bored Ape Yacht Club remained in the top spot with a market cap of $488,107,902.51. Meanwhile, NodeMonkes' market cap ballooned to around 8,189 BTC according to CoinGecko's figures.
Trading Volume Explodes
The spike in NodeMonkes' floor price was accompanied by a massive surge in trading activity for the collection. Data from CryptoSlam revealed sales for NodeMonkes increased 140.8% in the preceding 24 hours, reaching a total volume of $5.1 million. This indicated growing demand among collectors for the blue-chip Bitcoin NFT set. Other popular BTC-focused NFT collections like Runestone also saw their floor prices jump over 40% and their market caps crack the top 10.
Experts Weigh In
When asked about the factors driving the sudden boom in Bitcoin NFTs, Nick Ruck, COO of ContentFi Labs, told The Block several influences were at play. First, some traders were rotating profits from large gains in Ethereum meme-coins to blue-chip BTC NFTs with long-term store of value potential. Additionally, expensive Ethereum gas fees and a cooling market for popular ETH NFT collections left an opening for alternative projects. Ruck noted that PudgyPenguins, a top Ethereum collection, had dropped from an all-time high of 20 ETH to under 10 ETH, reflecting Ethereum NFT exhaustion.
Growing Alternatives
Other industry observers pointed to the expansion of layer 1 blockchains like Polygon and Solana attracting new NFT buyers. These offer much lower fees than Ethereum, resulting in better user experiences. As more NFT builders launch on these smart contract platforms, some traders may diversify away from Ethereum solely due to its high costs. The rise of Bitcoin-based NFTs aligns with this thesis, providing a quality alternative for users seeking lower fees and new exciting collections associated with the world's first cryptocurrency.
A New Blue Chip Class?
With continued growth, some in the space argue Bitcoin NFTs like NodeMonkes could develop their own premium "blue chip" class apart from traditional Ethereum NFT giants. Their affiliation with Bitcoin's proof-of-work security and brand, combined with finite supplies, makes them scarce digital assets in their own right. Despite being a younger category, BTC NFTs proved remarkably resilient through the recent crypto winter. If their trend of outperforming major Ethereum NFTs holds, they may become a mainstay for serious NFT collectors. Ultimately, time will tell if Bitcoin further cements itself as an ecosystem for valuable digital collectibles.
