Franklin Templeton Shakes Crypto World with Bitcoin-based NFTs Launch

24

Franklin Templeton, known for its sterling reputation in the digital assets division, has ushered in an exciting new chapter in the fast-paced world of cryptocurrency with its introduction of Bitcoin-based non-fungible tokens, otherwise known as NFTs. This breakthrough has sent a noticeable ripple of activity through the Bitcoin ecosystem.

The increased momentum zipping through this sector isn’t haphazard, but attributable to a collection of factors. These include the debut of the exceptional Bitcoin NFTs, known as Ordinals, fresh fungible standards like BRC-20 and Runes, the expansion of decentralized finance applications on the Bitcoin network, as well as the growth of Bitcoin Layer 2 solutions.


An interesting revelation from the report submitted by the prestigious Bitcoin ETF issuer is the noticeable surge of activity within the Bitcoin NFT space. Particularly captivating are findings concerning Ordinals which have seen a robust increase in trading volume in recent months.

Much of this growth has catapulted Bitcoin to a position of dominance. That became evident in December 2023 when Bitcoin’s trading volume outpaced that of its rival, Ethereum, as clearly reflected in the provided chart.

Moreover, several collections of Bitcoin Ordinals are carving a niche for themselves in the crowded NFT market by dominating in terms of trading volume and market capitalization. These collections–NodeMonkes, Runestone, and Bitcoin Puppets–are soaring. With aggregate market caps of $353 million, $339 million, and $168 million respectively, these collections are currently the stars of the market.

The trading volume of these collections over the past 30 days reveals they recorded trading volumes of $81 million, $85 million, and $38 million respectively, further underlining their success.

What sets BTC Ordinals apart from NFTs on other blockchains such as Ethereum or Solana, according to Franklin Templeton, is the unique aspect of incorporating raw data recorded directly on the Bitcoin blockchain, thus enhancing their attractiveness and boosting their demand as reflected in the market cap and trading volume figures.

A pivotal player in the ETF market, one of Franklin Templeton’s significant earlier feats this year was the launch of a spot BTC ETF in the US under the ticker name “EZBC”. Despite its zero-fee structure, there has been a notable difference in flows with respect to the leading trailblazers in the newly sanctioned ETF market such as Blackrock (IBIT) and Fidelity (FBTC).

In a separate development, Binance, the crypto exchange, in its recent blog post, indicated that it would cease to extend support for Bitcoin-based NFTs on its marketplace. Evidently, the need to streamline its product offerings in the NFT space has led to this radical decision. Therefore, users owning Bitcoin NFTs are counseled to withdraw them from the Binance NFT marketplace via the Bitcoin network before May 18, 2024.

And just to keep up with the BTC landscape, currently, Bitcoin is trading at a cool $68,300, up 3% in the last day, and inching precariously towards the pivotal landmark of $70,000, a level the mighty digital currency has wrestled to maintain on several occasions.