The following updates will appear in the next edition of Comic NFTs - An Ethical Approach. The first edition is available here.
Subset: Ick! Bitcoin
-> Bitcoin is as relevant to traditional NFT sales as the Argentine Peso is to English-only print comics.
Bitcoin does not have integrated smart contract abilities, so it cannot be used to host traditional NFTs. Period. If you are talking about Ordinals, see the next quick sheet.
The only real intersection Bitcoin has with NFTs is as one of a whole host of potential currencies used to pay for them. I don’t have specific stats for this yet, but I believe this would be less common than people might think, as Bitcoin is generally used more as liquid collateral these days than as a payment currency. It would be like buying an NFT with gold or a room in your house. It’s not impossible; it’s just that there are far better options. Most NFT sales typically happen using the native cryptocurrency of the chain hosting the NFT (e.g. WAX, MATIC, or ETH), a US dollar-denominated stablecoin like USDC, or without cryptocurrency at all via a credit card.
Beyond payments, there are a couple of other tangential connections.
The STACKS (STX) blockchain supports smart contracts and NFTs by essentially recycling the energy of Bitcoin transactions to make its chain secure. STX uses a super-unique & innovative consensus mechanism called proof-of-transfer (PoX) that frankly makes my brain hurt trying to understand it. There is also a Bitcoin side-chain called Liquid that is related to Bitcoin in a way similar to how Polygon is related to Ethereum. For purposes of our discussion, though, it is enough to know that these Bitcoin-adjacent chains are not the same as Bitcoin and are still tiny players in the NFT space at that.
Subset: Ick! Ordinals!
… but if you are talking about Bitcoin ordinals, they are not great for comics distribution. If you have any concerns, like I do, I’d just stay away from them.
Shortly after I released the first edition of this book, a way to create digital collectibles on the Bitcoin blockchain became available. Ordinals are analogous to NFTs but have some key differences that you can explore in the articles linked in the glossary.
I am unaware of any comic IP-related digital collectibles being minted as ordinals. While technically possible, the high cost of minting large files as Ordinals is a major stumbling block to this ever becoming a widespread phenomenon. Moreover, doing so will, fairly or unfairly, entangle the creator in the debate over the environmental concerns associated with the energy-intensive Bitcoin blockchain. Even “Bitcoin maximalists” have expressed concerns about this tangential use of a chain designed to be “borderless” digital gold.
These concerns are not issues with traditional NFTs minted on carbon-neutral chains.
Glossary: Ordinals
Think the digital equivalent of sketches drawn in the memo field of a paper check. (If you are too young to know what a check/cheque is, look it up. Ha!)
Casey Rodarmor launched the Bitcoin ordinal protocol in January 2023. This non-smart-contract-based protocol makes it possible to attach images, videos, games, and other digital media to individual Satoshis (the smallest unit of Bitcoin. Think “penny”) and have this information permanently embedded in the Bitcoin blockchain. These inscriptions are known as ordinals and are now actively traded much like traditional NFTs.
What Are Ordinals? A Beginner's Guide to Bitcoin NFTs - Decrypt: https://decrypt.co/resources/what-are-ordinals-a-beginners-guide-to-bitcoin-nfts
Bitcoin NFTs? Ordinals Inscriptions Explained (Finding, Buying, & More): https://nftnow.com/guides/bitcoin-nfts-ordinals-inscriptions-explained-finding-buying-more/
How Do You Mint a Bitcoin Ordinal & How Much Does It Cost?: https://www.makeuseof.com/how-to-mint-bitcoin-ordinal-how-much-does-it-cost/
(GT: This is an early take.)
A Politics Quick Sheet (Part 2)