{"id":4124,"date":"2023-02-23T21:22:51","date_gmt":"2023-02-23T21:22:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nft.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2023\/02\/23\/taproot-wizards-a-guide-to-the-fastest-growing-bitcoin-ordinals-project\/"},"modified":"2023-02-23T21:22:51","modified_gmt":"2023-02-23T21:22:51","slug":"taproot-wizards-a-guide-to-the-fastest-growing-bitcoin-ordinals-project","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nft.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2023\/02\/23\/taproot-wizards-a-guide-to-the-fastest-growing-bitcoin-ordinals-project\/","title":{"rendered":"Taproot Wizards: A Guide to the Fastest-Growing Bitcoin Ordinals Project"},"content":{"rendered":"

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At the start of 2023, with Ordinals Inscriptions growing<\/a> in popularity daily, it seemed every collector worth their salt was out to cash in on the Bitcoin NFT craze. While most turned their attention to CryptoPunks<\/a>, OnChainMonkey<\/a>, and other Ethereum-native projects bridging over<\/a> to the world\u2019s oldest blockchain, one Bitcoin-centric endeavor emerged to establish a new narrative around digital artifacts.<\/p>\n

Helmed by an independent developer and longtime Bitcoin advocate, Taproot Wizards (TW) entered not only as the new kid on the Ordinals block but with a mission to become much more than just another generative avatar<\/a> project. Carrying the tagline \u201cMake Bitcoin Magical Again\u201d and featuring art that holds historical significance within the Bitcoin community, the wizard-themed project completely disrupted the still-developing Bitcoin NFT ecosystem in one fell swoop. <\/p>\n

What is Taproot Wizards?<\/h2>\n

At its core, Taproot Wizards seems akin to the many dozens of PFP (profile picture) projects<\/a> that preceded it. Featuring 2,121<\/a> unique, wizard-themed Ordinals, the collection grew over time, teased bit by bit via the project\u2019s Discord<\/a> before being fully revealed on February 18, 2023. Though the project has yet to mint<\/a> at the time of writing, it continues to receive accolades for its avant-garde sensibilities that hedge on a critical piece of Bitcoin history: the Bitcoin Wizard.<\/p>\n

On February 18, 2013, exactly ten years before the Taproot Wizards reveal<\/a>, a user who goes by the moniker \u201cmavensbot\u201d<\/a> uploaded a crude drawing<\/a> of a Bitcoin-wielding wizard to the r\/Bitcoin on Reddit. The image, which quickly became iconic within the crypto community as a sort of mascot for BTC, existed in numerous forms before finding new life in Web3 by way of Taproot Wizards.<\/p>\n

It was initially assumed that those behind Taproot Wizards had only co-opted the original Bitcoin Wizard as inspiration for a PFP project. But on the 10th anniversary of the initial release, it was announced that mavensbot was, in fact, involved in the creation of the art for the TW collection. Subsequently, a secondary collection<\/a> featuring the Bitcoin Wizard was launched, independent of the droves of Taproot Wizards already revealed. It served to both onboard users onto Bitcoin\u2019s Lightning Network and benefit mavensbot for his masterful creation and years of blockchain advocacy. <\/p>\n

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The original artist behind the iconic Magic Internet Money meme @mavensb0t<\/a> just earned over 6.15 BTC this weekend.<\/p>\n

The @TaprootWizards<\/a> project integrated lightning network so all the NFT degens would have to figure out how to use LN to get one \ud83d\udc4d<\/p>\n

Props!https:\/\/t.co\/QvVR4butDI<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Brad Mills (\ud83d\udd11,\ud83e\uddc0) (@bradmillscan) February 21, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Who created Taproot Wizards, and why?<\/h2>\n

Taproot Wizards would be nothing without mavensbot\u2019s original contribution to the Bitcoin Reddit. But the impact of the Wizard drawing<\/a> goes beyond simply inspiring the art of TW. As Udi Wertheimer<\/a> \u2014 a developer, crypto advocate, and member of r\/Bitcoin<\/a> when the original Bitcoin Wizard was posted \u2014 puts it, mavensbot\u2019s drawing was a major event that nearly doubled the size of the Bitcoin Reddit at the time. This event, and the cultural shift it marks, would ultimately inspire Wertheimer to leverage the wizard IP to create its modern, non-fungible counterparts.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe 2013 Bitcoin Wizard brought in a lot of new people [to r\/Bitcoin]. The cool thing about it was that it was this very simple drawing. It looks like it was made in Microsoft Paint, and it just says \u2018magical internet money \u2013 join us,\u2019 that\u2019s all,\u201d Wertheimer said in an interview with nft now. <\/p>\n

\u201cPeople really liked that. So we made a twist of that. We said, \u2018Okay, we\u2019re gonna say its magical internet JPEGs <\/em>and invite people to join us.\u2019 This wizard collection is supposed to be really for people who believe in Bitcoin and want it to succeed.\u201d<\/p>\n

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The evolution of the Bitcoin Wizard into the Taproot Wizards. Credit: Taproot Wizards<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

When Ordinals first began to hit their stride, Wertheimer \u2014 a major proponent of Bitcoin over the years \u2014 was seemingly already lightyears ahead of most in Web3. Due to his nature as a Bitcoin native, he saw Ordinals as a chance to shake up the seemingly stagnant bitcoin community and took it upon himself to do so in a grandiose fashion. On February 1, in an event to announce Taproot Wizards to the world, Wertheimer\u00a0purposefully orchestrated\u00a0the largest block and transaction in Bitcoin\u2019s history, achieving the absolute maximum BTC block size of 4MB \u2014 something that many, up until this point, thought was impossible.<\/p>\n

Yet, perhaps as to be expected, not everyone was happy about the sizeable block, or Taproot Wizards, for that matter. Considering a large portion of Bitcoin maximalists were already opposed to Ordinals for various reasons \u2014 including their nature to cause congestion on the blockchain<\/a> \u2014 Wertheimer\u2019s purposeful action of maxing out of a BTC block meant that network usage would come to a halt if only for a short while. Of course, while this was not well received by the keepers of tradition, it was but a single show of force in Wertheimer\u2019s battle plan to bring innovation back to Bitcoin.<\/p>\n

The intention behind the project<\/h2>\n

At face value, Taproot Wizards is a PFP collection featuring thousands of crudely drawn wizard Ordinal NFTs. This much is true. But by leveraging the obvious hype factor and tradablility that comes with PFP projects, Wertheimer aims to create a sort of trojan horse of Bitcoin awareness. Although collectors may come for the art, through disruption<\/a>, community building, and by re-establishing the longstanding BTC ethos of rebellion, Wertheimer hopes to inspire a new wave of interest in and innovation on Bitcoin.<\/p>\n

Fueled by the belief that Bitcoin has essentially lost momentum in the wake of Ethereum\u2019s NFT successes, Wertheimer says he\u2019d love to see the unique, creative, and humorous culture once established by early crypto adopters return to the Bitcoin blockchain. But for this to happen, he feels that Bitcoin maximalists will need to come down from their high horses and accept that the blockchain can be used for more than simply transacting. This is why he opted to launch TW with a 4MB Bitcoin block.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe statement we were trying to make is: \u2018look, whatever the Bitcoin protocol allows us to do, we\u2019re going to do.\u2019 You might have some preconceptions about what is okay and what is not okay, but we\u2019re just going to do what the Bitcoin protocol allows us,\u201d said Wertheimer. \u201cI don\u2019t think that every single thing we do is going to be brilliant, but we\u2019re going to try<\/em>. We\u2019re going to start trying things which is something that is missing in Bitcoin culture.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Wertheimer noted that while he doesn\u2019t expect everyone to appreciate Ordinals, users don\u2019t have to think they\u2019re good to benefit from them. But in the spirit of innovation, he says that he disagrees with the current Bitcoin ethos of perfectionism and believes that failure must be achieved for progress to be made.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not possible to have software that is completely perfect. I think that a much better approach to life, and Bitcoin as well, is that failures and mistakes are going to happen, but they should be embraced because that\u2019s how you correct your path. That\u2019s how progress is made in all fields,\u201d said Wertheimer. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt seems like people on Bitcoin have been very focused on avoiding mistakes and failures when really they\u2019ve been avoiding his progress. The only way to not make mistakes is not to move at all. So I hope that [Taproot Wizards] can reignite this passion to experiment, to try things, and to learn from mistakes.\u201d<\/p>\n

The future of Taproot Wizards<\/h2>\n

Whether or not Taproot Wizards catches fire as the next big NFT project is anyone\u2019s guess. But while speculation can only take users so far, it seems that Wertheimer\u2019s efforts are meant to have a much greater effect on the Bitcoin blockchain than a simple PFP collection could. In the spirit of bringing renewed interest to BTC, Wertheimer says that he\u2019ll largely focus on education \u2014 prompting TW community members to act for themselves rather than offering periodical incentives to those that stick around.<\/p>\n

While Taproot Wizards fans will surely be rewarded for their support and participation over time, as we\u2019ve recently seen the NFT landscape (and collector rewards) shifting significantly<\/a> in 2023, Wertheimer\u2019s methodology could very well inspire new forms of Ordinals project management. But as Web3 matures, Taproot Wizards may have served the blockchain best by highlighting one salient truth: stagnancy and complacency will surely not help NFTs go from niche to mainstream.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n