A news that should continue to fuel the debate on Bitcoin NFTs… The holder of a Bored Ape destroyed it on the Ethereum blockchain (ETH), in order to send it on the Bitcoin blockchain (BTC). A look back at this symbolic act, and the disagreements that ensued.
A Bored Ape that now exists on Bitcoin
The holder of the NFT Bored Ape 1626 “burned” it on the Ethereum blockchain, to symbolize his move to Bitcoin. As a reminder, the issue of Bitcoin NFTs has been hotly debated lately. Developer Casey Rodarmor has successfully written non-fungible tokens into the Bitcoin blockchain, using the entire space of a block. This feat, called Ordinals, follows the Taproot update, which improved the privacy and security of the largest cryptocurrency’s network.
Jason Williams, who holds this Bored Ape number 1626, therefore decided to use an entry with Ordinals to represent his NFT on the Bitcoin blockchain. He told Detoast about his act, which is sure to get some reactions:
“It’s basically throwing a Lamborghini into a trash compactor. Is it a good idea to throw bloated jpegs onto the Bitcoin base blockchain? That’s another discussion, but I think it’s going to be a lot of fun to see how this all plays out. “
So the Bored Ape – which was previously valued at around $169,000 – no longer exists on Ethereum. Does it now exist on Bitcoin? That’s still up for debate.
Yuga Labs says NFT on Bitcoin is not valid
Yuga Labs, which runs the Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) brand, has ruled that this NFT is in no way a valid copy of its collection. This is what Greg Solano, the co-founder of Yuga Labs, explained. Earlier this week, he explained on Twitter that the NFT sent to Bitcoin no longer had a license to operate:
It’s not “gone from ETH forever.” It’s basically the same as any other transfer: If you transfer your ape to an address you no longer control (even if it’s the ‘burn’ address), you have effectively given up your license.
And no, before someone asks, that doesn’t mean that anyone… https://t.co/E52b7ZjWbu– Garga.eth (Greg Solano) (@CryptoGarga) February 13, 2023
” He didn’t “leave” Ethereum permanently. It’s really the same as any other transfer: if you transfer your ape to an address you don’t control (including a burn address), you are effectively giving up your license. “
A licence that is not transferable to a new prospective licensee, by the way, as explained by the co-founder of Yuga Labs. Other commentators have also pointed out that the ‘transfer’ of NFT is not in fact a transfer of ownership of that NFT. For his part, Jason Williams poked fun at the backlash from the BAYC community on Twitter.
Bored Ape Holders are not apes they are Ostriches. Head in a hole flightless bird type ostriches. https://t.co/f79YlT8fMg pic.twitter.com/f3pxtmSEef
– Jason A. Williams (@GoingParabolic) February 15, 2023
The debate is still raging, and shows that this subject is not strictly technical, but touches on the way we consider these two blockchains. It remains to be seen whether the idea of “Bitcoin NFTs” will gain momentum in the coming months.
