Taproot Wizards: Aiming for $34 Million with NFT Auction of Cartoon Wizards
A new Bitcoin ordinals project, Taproot Wizards, is set to launch an ambitious art collection that seeks to raise over $34 million. This initiative features a unique series of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) showcasing cartoon wizards designed in a playful, Microsoft Paint style. This innovative campaign follows a successful sale last year that garnered $13 million through a different collection.
The upcoming auction will present a total of 2,121 NFTs, each depicting the project’s signature “magic internet JPEGs,” a nod to the famous 2013 Bitcoin meme known as “magic internet money.” According to a statement shared via email, the auction is scheduled for later this month, with the NFTs having already been inscribed on the Bitcoin blockchain two years prior.
Last year, the Taproot Wizards project successfully sold 3,000 “Quantum Cats”, raising support for the Bitcoin Improvement Proposal (BIP) OP_CAT. Despite facing some technical challenges, the collection quickly sold out, accumulating 300 BTC in the process.
Starting on March 25, the Wizards will be exclusively available to buyers on a whitelist for an initial price of 0.2 BTC (approximately $16,000). Any NFTs not purchased during this phase will enter a Dutch auction, with the starting price to be set above 0.2 BTC and announced closer to the auction date, as confirmed by a spokesperson in a Telegram message to CoinDesk.
If all 2,121 NFTs are sold at the whitelist price of 0.2 BTC, the project stands to raise around $34 million, based on Bitcoin’s current price of about $80,000.
The OP_CAT proposal was originally included in Bitcoin’s source code by its pseudonymous creator, Satoshi Nakamoto, who later retracted it due to concerns over potential vulnerabilities, including the risk of denial-of-service (DoS) attacks. Developers have since been working to reinstate OP_CAT, aiming to enable Ethereum-style smart contract capabilities, which would significantly enhance the functionality available on the original Bitcoin blockchain.
Through initiatives like the NFT sales, Taproot Wizards aspires to “meme OP_CAT back into existence.” Recently, the project also raised $30 million to develop a comprehensive ecosystem of applications utilizing OP_CAT, further solidifying its commitment to advancing the Bitcoin landscape.
