How to make a Bitcoin NFT

by James · February 21, 2023

Dear Bankless Nation,

One of the long-standing Bitcoiner mantras has been the foundation of BTC to money as an exclusive use case. Some of that seems to be changing now…

With the rise of Bitcoin NFTs thanks to the Ordinals protocol, we’re here to show you how to create your own non-fungible token on the Bitcoin network.

– Bankless team

👉 Immutable powers the next generation of web3 games ✨

Bankless Author: William M. Peaster

The rise of Bitcoin NFTs has been one of the biggest recent stories in the NFT ecosystem. However, this early stage can be quite confusing. This Bankless Tactic will show you how to make your own Bitcoin NFT in a simple and straightforward way.

Objective: Learn to make Bitcoin NFTs
Skill: Beginner/Intermediate
Effort: Less than one hour
ROI: DIY mints on OG blockchain

On Metaversal I recently wrote about the start and boom of the Bitcoin NFT scene.

Of course, this scene only started to come to life in 2014 when Counterparty, a network built on Bitcoin for custom tokens, was introduced.

However, the counterparty failed to gain much traction and was eventually overshadowed by the rise of Ethereum smart contracts, which has catalyzed several NFT booms since then.

For nearly a decade, the notion of a bustling “Bitcoin NFT Ecosystem” has not been considered viable, or, well, even considered a term by the vast majority of people in the crypto-economy. That’s all changed now with the arrival of Ordinalsa new protocol that can write metadata over individual satoshis, the smallest BTC value.

So why this meteoric rise now? What is the difference between 2014 and today?

First, the modern crypto-economy now has a thriving and well-developed NFT ecosystem filled with explorers who are comfortable navigating multiple diverse chains. We are, so to speak, ready this time.

Second, Ordinals-style NFTs are an innovation breakthrough in how they provide a new way to chain NFTs directly to Bitcoin. Here, “completely onchain” means that the metadata, e.g. an NFT’s art, will be indefinitely retrievable from the Bitcoin blockchain rather than from a private storage server or storage network such as Arweave, Filecoin, IPFS, and so on.

That said, and just like all approaches to NFTs we’ve seen to date, Ordinals-style NFTs have a number of unique benefits and cons.

In their pros column, the new Bitcoin NFTs offer robust duration guarantees — at least as things stand — and cheap chain storage, which is usually extremely expensive.

When it comes to consthese inscriptions lack the composability and expressiveness that smart contracts offer, and there is a chance that Bitcoin nodes can crop them out gradually.

What is clear for now, however, is that this new Bitcoin scene is here to stay and will undoubtedly catalyze a wave of new Ordinals-friendly wallets and coining services. We’ve seen the start of such a rise in recent weeks as several projects have stepped forward to offer streamlined Bitcoin NFT tools, since it initially required running your own Bitcoin node to interact with these NFTs.

Immutable is the developer platform of choice for building and scaling web3 games. Mint millions of assets for freewith frictionless gaming experiences, and increased liquidity through our global order book. Be part of the future with Gods Unchained, Guild of Guardians, Illuvium and many more groundbreaking games.

👉 Visit Immutable.com to start building today.

So let’s say you’re interested. You want to try your hand at creating a Bitcoin NFT, but you prefer a simple NFT minting flow instead of having to spin up your own node. You have options here, but to get started you need two things:

Some BTC
An Ordinals compatible wallet

Just like minting an NFT on Ethereum requires ETH for gas, you pay with BTC to complete Bitcoin NFT staking transactions. At the time of writing, a normal coin fee on gamma.io was around ~50,000 rate, i.e. ~₿0.0005 or $13 USD. However, depending on demand, this fee can fluctuate significantly. As such, picking up $25 worth of BTC, which is roughly ₿0.001, should cover your first coin right now, but going for $50 worth may be your best bet to start considering swings.

And when it comes to setting up a wallet, don’t be sloppy here. If you try to get started with a regular Bitcoin wallet, you could accidentally use the satoshis that make up your NFTs! Consequently, one of the easiest wallets you can use right now Xversea Stacks and Bitcoin wallet currently available as a Chrome extension or a mobile app for Android or iOS users.

Once you’ve downloaded the extension or app, whichever you prefer, you’ll be prompted to create a new wallet. You will be asked if you want to back up your wallet now or later, and then asked to set up a password for the new account. Once that is done, you can use your Xverse BTC address to receive the coins and pay for Bitcoin NFT coins.

At this point, after receiving BTC to your Xverse wallet, you are ready to start minting. For this, the aforementioned gamma.io site is one of the most simple Ordinals-style coining resources available today, so I recommend it for Bitcoin NFT beginners.

To continue with Gamma, simply go to the project’s website once your BTC hits the Xverse wallet. Then click the “Ordinals” button at the top of the page and select “Create Inscription.” Doing so will bring you to an upload dashboard that looks like this:

Here, start by uploading the request file type. Then select your desired fee level (Normal, Higher or Custom) and enter your Ordinal recipient address to set your NFT to. Note: this is not the BTC address in your Xverse app; you must click over to the collectibles tab and hit “Receive” and then copy over your explicit Ordinals NFT address to proceed.

At this point, press “Continue” on Gamma, agree to the Terms of Service, and then pay for your coin transaction, which you will be prompted to do as follows:

Now? It’s a waiting game. Your enrollment may take hours, or even days, to complete depending on the transaction fee and the need to use the network at that time. Gamma will provide a waiting page where you can check the status of your coin and zoom in on transaction details.

Once your coin transaction is complete, you will be able to view it on Gamma or in your Xverse wallet (select the “Open Gallery” option in the Collectibles tab). When it comes to selling NFTs, try asking for one collection list on Gamma or try your luck at any of the other Ordinals marketplaces available today:

All in all, minting NFTs on Bitcoin is not for the faint of heart right now, but services like Xverse and Gamma make it significantly easier compared to the more advanced paths some people are using right now, like spinning up their own Bitcoin nodes.

Zooming out, it will be interesting to see how much traction Bitcoin NFTs gain from here. For NFT purists, the duration and chainability of satoshi inscriptions is compelling, but it remains to be seen how the ecosystem will shape up going forward. Chances are that Bitcoin will become a leading on-chain storage option, but we’ll have to wait and see what happens down the road!

Where will the next airdrop come from? Our team has some ideas… That’s why we created Airdrop guide – This is where we put all our predictions for protocols that are likely to have an airdrop soon.

If you are not already a member of Bankless Premium, upgrade now for instant access.

Unlock Airdrop Guide

Create your first Bitcoin NFT: try using the Xverse x Gamma combo to make your first Bitcoin coins 🔥
Read my previous tactic if you missed it: A Beginner’s Guide to Canto 🍵

Subscribe to Bankless. $22 per month. Includes archive access, Inner circle & Divorced.

Not financial or tax advice. This newsletter is strictly educational and is not investment advice or a solicitation to buy or sell assets or make financial decisions. This newsletter is not tax advice. Talk to your accountant. Do your own research.

Mediation. From time to time I may add links in this newsletter to products I use. I may receive a commission if you make a purchase through one of these links. In addition, the Bankless authors have crypto assets. See our investment information here.