Trump cashes in NFT earnings, Ordinals debate goes haywire

Former US President Donald Trump seems to be liquidating a significant amount of Ether (ETH) earned from selling his NFTs. His associated wallet has transferred 1,075 ETH to Coinbase since December 8th.

Trump cashes in NFT earnings, Ordinals debate goes haywire

The ETH proceeds came from Trump’s NFT collections, including his infamous mugshot taken during his surrender to authorities in Georgia last August. According to blockchain intelligence platform Arkham, the Trump-linked wallet moved 1,075 ETH (approximately $2.4 million) to Coinbase in 13 transactions. Withdrawals occurred in batches of 100, 125, and 200 ETH. Trump’s ETH balance had steadily grown since October, peaking at $4 million before the selling spree.

Despite Trump’s previous criticism of cryptocurrencies as “fake” and a “disaster waiting to happen” in August 2021, he is now actively dealing in the crypto space. Although he is gearing up for a 2024 presidential run, his campaign recently faced a setback as Colorado’s Supreme Court removed him from the state’s ballot.

The Bitcoin Ordinals debate takes an unexpected turn into chaos, with a touch of humor involving “shit” and farts

“In the ongoing Ordinals debate surrounding Bitcoin, commentators have resorted to a rather vivid analogy to illustrate the contentious nature of the discussion. Since its launch in January, the Ordinals feature has sparked heated arguments among Bitcoin enthusiasts and critics, with disagreements over whether it enhances the network or merely constitutes spam.

Tomer Strolight, the editor-in-chief at Swan, a Bitcoin financial services firm, used a graphic metaphor on X to depict the conflict:

“A guy shits in the street. It stinks. He encourages others to shit in public, clogging the streets w/ shit. He says it brings new people to the city because they’re degenerates who like it. ‘It’s ok,’ he says. ‘They pay to shit.’ But shit everywhere has made everything cost more.”

Enthusiastic Ordinals supporter shells out $7,000 to fulfill Elon Musk’s NFT request

Responding to a challenge by Elon Musk, an unidentified Ordinals enthusiast successfully encoded a video clip on a blockchain, making a substantial payment of $7,223 for the endeavor.

The challenge arose when “DogeDesigner” posted a video on X with the caption “Does anyone still remember NFTs?” Another X user responded, “Web links to data you don’t own.”

The 1:18-minute video features a 3D rotating diorama with gold-plated text proclaiming “computers never sleeps” and “HODL” on different plates. Musk entered the conversation, stating, “Yeah, at least encode the jpeg on the blockchain!”.

Ethereum’s NFT supremacy diminishes in the wake of the recent surge in Ordinals and Solana activity

Ethereum’s once-dominant position in the non-fungible token (NFT) market has nearly vanished, overshadowed by a surge in NFT activity on Ordinals and Solana in recent months, as noted by a market commentator.

Bitcoin has surged ahead with $796.7 million in Ordinals NFT sales volume this month, surpassing Ethereum’s $319.7 million during the same period. Even Solana has outpaced Ethereum, boasting $334.2 million in volume, according to data from CryptoSlam.