Taproot Wizards burst onto the scene as the fresh, new face on the Ordinals block, with the ambition to become much more than the average generative avatar project. The project’s tagline is “Make Bitcoin Magical Again” and the artwork pays homage to the Bitcoin community’s storied past. Taproot Wizards have completely shattered the still-evolving Bitcoin NFT ecosystem in one fell swoop. But, not everyone is happy.
What is Taproot Wizards?
Taproot Wizards has disrupted the Bitcoin NFT ecosystem with its inventive, new outlook. On February 18, 2023, they fully revealed the collection, which features 2,121 unique, wizard-themed Ordinals. Despite not being minted yet, the collection has received praise for its innovative approach to incorporating Bitcoin history. Specifically, the Bitcoin Wizard.
Artist, mavensbot, originally uploaded the Bitcoin Wizard as a drawing-turned-meme to r/Bitcoin on Reddit. It depicts a wizard with the words “magical internet money – join us.” This happened exactly ten years before the Taproot Wizards reveal and quickly became an icon within the crypto community. Taproot Wizards firstly appeared to have only drawn inspiration from the iconic Bitcoin Wizard when creating their PFP project. However, mavensbot, the original creator of the Bitcoin Wizard, had a hand in designing the art for the new collection.
Udi Wertheimer, a developer and crypto advocate, shared his story this week. He said the creator of the original Bitcoin wizard meme raised 6 BTC, or close to $150,000. He explained how he and the Taproot Wizards helped mavensbot issue and sell a collection of ordinal inscriptions to celebrate the 10th anniversary of his artwork. Additionally, the artist received support through Bitcoin and the Lightning Network. This is a huge win in the eyes of many. However, bitcoin maximalists are less impressed.
Criticism from Bitcoin Maximalists
Wertheimer, a Bitcoin native, aimed to shake up the seemingly stagnant Bitcoin community with the launch of Taproot Wizards. To make a statement, he performed the largest block and transaction in Bitcoin’s history on February 1, achieving the absolute maximum BTC block size of 4MB. Previously, many thought this to be impossible.
However, not everyone was pleased. Particularly the Bitcoin maximalists who were already against Ordinals due to blockchain congestion and several other reasons. Wertheimer stated that maximalists hold a strong dislike towards Ordinal inscriptions because they have deemed NFTs to be malevolent. He pointed out that he doesn’t anticipate everyone to appreciate Ordinals, but he believes in the pursuit of innovation and does not agree with the current Bitcoin ethos of perfectionism. Despite the disapproval, Wertheimer maintains that most Bitcoiners do not share these views, and Taproot Wizards is only one aspect of Wertheimer’s plan to bring innovation back to Bitcoin.
Could Taproot Wizards be the next big thing in the world of NFTs? While the project’s future success is still uncertain, one thing is clear. Udi Wertheimer’s innovative approach is set to have a massive impact on the Bitcoin blockchain beyond just a regular PFP collection.
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