By
Temitope Olatunji
May 9th, 2024
Elon Musk criticized NFTs and offered a solution which seemed to praise Bitcoin Ordinals as they solve the problem the Tesla CEO highlighted.
X (formerly Twitter) Chairman Elon Musk recently spoke on a podcast deriding non-fungible tokens (NFTs). However, while speaking, Elon Musk seemed to unintentionally make a case for Bitcoin NFTs, known as Bitcoin Ordinals.
In a recent interview on The Joe Rogan Experience podcast hosted by comedian Joe Rogan, Musk said “the funny thing is the NFT is not even on the blockchain – it’s just a URL to the JPEG.” He then offered an opinion on how NFTs really should be:
“You should at least encode the JPEG in the blockchain. If the company housing the image goes out of business, you don’t have the image anymore.”
Reactions to Elon Musk’s Comment on NFTs from Bitcoin Ordinals Community
X users have responded with opinions on Musk’s comment. Many of them pointed out that the comments explain the use case for Bitcoin Ordinals, which are NFTs on the Bitcoin blockchain.
Developer Casey Rodarmor launched Bitcoin NFTs in January. These Bitcoin Ordinals are possible because of the Taproot upgrade implemented in 2021. However, Taproot did not enjoy much popularity until Ordinals.
One comment from crypto analyst Will Clemente mentioned Musk and seemed to promote Ordinals, describing the NFTs as “image/text inscriptions directly on the most secure open source monetary network on the planet.” Clemente added there are currently “38 million of these inscriptions” on the Bitcoin blockchain.
More reactions poured in, with an Ordinals developer known as “Leonidas” highlighting the difference between Bitcoin Ordinals and many other NFTs. Leonidas inscribed Elon Musk’s video saying NFTs are “not even on the blockchain” into the Bitcoin blockchain, essentially making it one of the Bitcoin Ordinals. y00ts and DeGods NFT projects creator Rohun “Frank” Vora then responded:
“This is why Ordinals will continue to grow. It’s the most elegant solution to one of the most universal criticisms of NFTs.”
Vora’s comment stands true, considering that the Musk comment is a criticism of NFTs. However, CryptoPunks NFTs creator Larva Labs moved tokens on-chain back in August 2021. In an official statement, Larva Labs said the move was necessary to ensure the “long-term survival” of Cryptopunks. The statement also added that the company wants to ensure that anyone with an Ethereum client can access a CryptoPunk NFT.
Bitcoin Ordinals Milestones
In May, only a few months after launch, Bitcoin Ordinals surpassed 10 million inscriptions on the Bitcoin blockchain. At the time, Rodarmor announced he would step down as the lead for the project, with pseudonymous coder Raphjaph taking over.
In July, Bitcoin Ordinals NFTs hit a new milestone, rising to more than 350,000 new inscriptions in one day. This was a 250% jump since Ordinals launchpad Luminex released the Bitcoin Request for Comment (BRC)-69 token standard less than two weeks earlier. The standard is a modified BRC-20 standard initiated to crash the cost of Ordinals inscriptions by more than 90%.
Many had criticized Bitcoin Ordinals for its inscription method, describing it as wasteful and inefficient. This is because of the transaction fees and block space required.