Tesla CEO and billionaire Elon Musk has criticized the fundamentals of non-fungible tokens (NFTs). Musk slammed NFTs during a podcast but impliedly supported Bitcoin Ordinals, known as Bitcoin NFTs.
Musk Criticized Non Fungible Tokens, Citing Several Reactions Within The Crypto Space
In an interview on The Joe Rogan Experience, released on October 31, Musk slashed NFTs and their drawbacks.
He stated:
The funny thing is the NFT is not even on the blockchain – it’s just a URL to the JPEG.
Further, the billionaire reiterated how NFTs should have made a sustainable pathway for the assets through on-chain encoding of the JPEG.
Musk said:
You should at least encode the JPEG in the blockchain. If the company housing the image goes out of business, you don’t have the image anymore.
Musk’s comments have sparked several reactions among Bitcoiners on social media. They believed that Musk concluded the utility and relevance of Bitcoin Ordinals in his interview.
Notably, developer Casey Rodarmor launched Bitcoin’s NFT versions in January this year.
The NFTs got the support of the Taproot soft fork in November 2021. Reacting to the interview, a crypto analyst, Will Clemente, commended Musk for the comments on NFTs. Clemente noted that Bitcoin Ordinals have different fundamentals from others in the industry.
Further, the crypto analyst disclosed that there are over 38 million Ordinals inscriptions permanent on the Bitcoin blockchain.
.@elonmusk you just laid out the case for Bitcoin ordinals – image/text inscriptions directly on the most secure open source monetary network on the planet. There are currently 38 million of these inscriptions on the Bitcoin blockchain. pic.twitter.com/WASj1qpkz8
— Will Clemente (@WClementeIII) November 1, 2023
Another enthusiast, the founder of NFT projects DeGods and y00ts, Rohun ‘Frank’ Vora, supported Musk’s stance on NFTs. Vora noted that the Ordinals will maintain sustainable growth in the future, more than other NFT projects.
According to Vora, Bitcoin Ordinals provide the most relevant solution in the space “to one of the most universal criticisms of NFTs.”
Also reacting to Musk was another ordinals developer, “Leonidas,” who expressed much appreciation and love for Musk’s comments on NFTs. This enthusiasm over the comments led to the inscription of the 19-second video into block 814,773 on the Bitcoin blockchain.
I just inscribed the video of @elonmusk saying that NFTs are “not even on the blockchain” into the Bitcoin blockchain!
Engage so that this shows up in Elon’s timeline and he learns about how Bitcoin NFTs (Ordinals) are stored fully on-chain forever.
→ https://t.co/hHRr3AYtxj pic.twitter.com/qAdhS7GXCZ
— Leonidas (@LeonidasNFT) November 1, 2023
Notably, Musk’s recent slam on NFTs isn’t the first. The billionaire criticized NFTs in December 2021, calling them signs of mental illness. He used a meme of a patient on a therapist’s couch to reflect the position of NFTs.
Not all NFT collections on the Ethereum blockchain fall under Musk’s criticism about NFTs. Larva Labs’ CryptoPunks is among such exceptions to Musk’s generalized assertions.
In August 2021, Larva Labs transferred its CryptoPunks collection on-chain. This transfer came after the NFTs had stayed off-chain for four years. The firm behind the project noted that on-chain will enhance the sustainability and relevance of the NFTs in the future.
In a statement, Larva Labs noted,
Storing them on-chain in this way would further cement the long-term survival of the Cryptopunks images and attributes and ensure that they can be fully accessed by anyone with only an Ethereum client.
Also in September, the developer of Ethereum-based OnChainMonkeys Metagood disclosed its decision to move its NFTs to Bitcoin. Though the company’s CEO, Danny Yang, did not indicate JPEG issues, he highlighted Bitcoin as a more secure network for NFTs’ growth.
According to CEO Yang,
High-value NFTs will win on Bitcoin.