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The origin assets of the digital antiquities market (NFTs)
Chart updated 1 June 2022 (for a higher res version of timeline click here)
Note 1: An early innovative arts project called Bitchcoin was missed in the recent update and will be added shortly.
Note 2: The chart has been updated, but the text in the article has not as of yet. Therefore the article content and reference numbers do not align with the chart. Updates to the article will be added shortly.
NFTs — A new world changing asset class
I have compiled this information to help people understand the origin projects out of which the NFT movement has emerged.
I apologise in advance for the length of this article. It is intended as a useful reference document rather than a leisurely read.
I contend that we are living in a unique emergence period of a new asset class that will radically disrupt many elements of the way our society operates and how we live. Given this, I believe great value will be attributed to the very earliest of these assets and innovative projects that have pioneered this new paradigm. We have already seen this dynamic start to play out. However, there remain some largely unknown and undervalued digital relics that this article will provide some information about.
Bitcoin (via the Counterparty internet protocol) played a very dominant role in the very earliest of NFTs/tokenised assets (2011–2016). This was then followed by a strong shift of focus and activity to the Ethereum chain (2017 onwards).
The significance of these origin assets being tokenised to bitcoin should not be overlooked in terms of the security, decentralisation and longevity that this provides. Being on the ‘origin chain’ is appropriately poetic too I might add.
At the moment, access to trade BTC assets is via Counterparty or the use of ‘Emblem Vaults’ on OpenSea. I would suggest these temporary entry barriers are your friend right now - as it has helped reduce broader market access for now. Therefore the curious and the tenacious will be rewarded ahead of what will soon be open and fully integrated chain-agnostic market platforms which are currently in development. At that time there will be full market access and exposure to these early…
