Ever since 2014, NFTs have been minted on Bitcoin via Counterparty.
This article focuses exclusively on NFTs true to the very definition of non-fungible — i.e. unique distinguishable tokens which by Counterparty jargon means a locked supply of one indivisible token.
Only a handful of NFTs were minted each year until 2021, when usage finally went through the roof. Almost all of these NFTs have on-chain metadata which makes it possible to understand (or at least get an idea of) what the issuers wanted to express with their tokens.
In some cases hash values constitute rock solid proof of the artist’s work. On the other end of the spectrum are NFTs where the artist only left a few words, leaving us to imagine what the token symbolizes. In other cases the token may not be an artistic expression at all, but rather represent legal ownership, point to a domain or something of else of technical nature.
Due to a quirk in Counterparty, to properly issue an NFT the supply must be locked through a second bitcoin transaction. This extra step means that few, or none, of the NFTs have been created without intent.
To view the complete list of all NFTs on Counterparty, check out the Timeline Tool.
Below is a summary of NFTs from each year.
2014
The platform was launched in January 2014. Although thousands of tokens were issued the first months, it took half a year until the first NFT was minted.
#1 – 2014-06-12 – OLGA – Моя Вечная One & Only
Anyone familiar to this blog (or blockchain history) knows this one. I created the NFT with a greeting which translates to “My Eternal One & Only”. I am proud to seemingly to be the first man ever to have expressed love through a crypto token. OLGA’s drawing was added in 2015.
#2 – 2014-07-24 – FFLTEAMA – http://joelooney.org/ltbcoin/ffl/
This token is from Joe Looney’s fantasy football project. One of the teams was represented with a non-fungible token. Looney, by the way, later went on to create Rare Pepe.
#3 – 2014-09-20 – THEADMIRAL – The very first FOUNDER
I couldn’t find any information about this one except the minting address also created 1000 FOUNDER tokens.
#4-204 – 2014-11-03/04 – BNP[xx]
These are the first serialized NFTs. Announced on Counterpartytalk, “Bitnplay offers the opportunity for any user to buy one of 200 unique digital tokens, on Counterparty. These tokens offer the rights to 100% rakeback on one Bitnplay account for a lifetime.” Prior to the BNPxx tokens, one KLFX token was minted, likely for testing.
In December 2014, only one more NFT was minted. It was a numeric asset, A5308205037694922000, with no description.
2015
#206 – 2015-02-16 – A9108551976014277000 – BobbyAndBritForever
Another sweet token in the same spirit as OLGA. I wonder if the number is random or hides a secret meaning?
#207-221 – 2015-02-16/17 – KEFT + 13 numeric names
Each one of these NFTs represents an art piece by David R. Sterry. Through hash values, each token is linked to a unique image file in an immutable / indisputable way. The historical significance of this project cannot be overstated!
No more NFTs were minted on Counterparty in 2015.
2016
#222 – 2016-09-25 – RASTAPEPE – ultra rare rasta pepe
This one has no image and is not included in the Rare Pepe directory.
#223-233 – 2016 Sep & Oct – Multiple Pepes
The following single token Pepes were minted; ONLYONEPEPE, HOMERPEPE, PEPEPIZZA, LENINPEPE, MARXPEPE, PEPENOPOULOS, REDPUTINPEPE, MYLITTLEPEPE, PEPEBUGGED, PEPECROWLEY, BASHARALPEPE.
I leave it to the reader to look into these. I don’t know if all made it to the directory.
What I can say for certain is that most – if not all – of these are extremely valuable. PEPENOPOULOS was sold at a Sotheby’s auction for $3.6 million in 2021.
Another six NFTs were minted in 2016:
#234 – 2016-10-08 – A18264417984463661000
#235 – 2016-10-18 – POPTOPS – beer/soda caps = 1 each (john777812mouse@gmail.com) for mailing address
#236 – 2016-11-12 – BAAAAAAAAA – res.indiesquare.me/json/BAAAAAAAAA.json
#237 – 2016-11-29 – GOBIGOD – Token to Redeem the Gobi God Creature
#238 – 2016-11-29 – WHISPGOD – Token to redeem the Whisp God Creature
#239 – 2016-12-02 – GALAXIAGOD – Token to redeem the Galaxia God Creature
#240 – 2016-12-28 – A121341451515252551 – Rights to buy XMR.XYZ
2017
With 301 new registrations, more NFTs were minted in 2017 than in the previous three years combined.
However, the majority of these were from the same issuer. He used numeric names with a description referencing a historic work. E.g. “Eureka, Edgar Allan Poe (1848)“, “On the Origin of Species, Darwin (1859)“, “Mona Lisa, Leonardo da Vinci (c. 1503)“, etc.
I don’t know if the number in some way links to the original work, e.g. is a hash representation of a file representing the work. Whether it is or not, the project is indeed a creative way of tokenizing human history.
These are the non-numeric registrations of 2017:
#241 – 2017-01-06 – PWABYSCRILLA – This token represents a 1/1 artwork of PWA by Scrilla Ventura.
#242 – 2017-01-08 – TTMB – TIME TRAVEL MACHINE, TAKE 2, INVENTED BY JOHN 8889 FOX
#243 – 2017-01-30 – CHESSKING – There can only be 1 Chess King
#244 – 2017-01-30 – CHESSQUEEN – There can only be 1 Chess Queen
#245 – 2017-02-08 – COMINGOFKEK – res.indiesquare.me/json/COMINGOFKEK.json
#246 – 2017-03-09 – RAWBASILISK
#248 – 2017-05-30 – RAREFEELS
#332 – 2017-07-06 – PEPEMOBIUS – fetus papyraceus incensum
#533 – 2017-08-30 – KEYUNO
#538 – 2017-10-03 – MODERNPEPE.ART – Original ModernPepe Framed Canvas
#539 – 2017-10-09 – VOGUEMONARCH – Vogue Monarch
#540 – 2017-10-09 – MONARCHKING – The king.
#541 – 2017-12-02 – PEPELMINING.SAACHIRARE – 1 OF 16 LIMITED EDITION 30X40
A notable innovation here is MODERNPEPE.ART. It uses the new subasset feature, which has later become popular for serializing NFTs under a parent asset.
2018
This was a slow year with only 38 NFTs issued.
It was difficult to pick any one standing out, so I listed a few random ones here:
#542 – 2018-01-09 – DJPEPE.6FOOT – 6 foot DJPEPE 1/1 token for the Rare At Festival in NYC Jan 13
#543 – 2018-01-13 – FRESHPEPE.PRINT – Rare Digital Art Festival Auction
#544 – 2018-03-15 – A2279025048166055000 – Aria (Goldberg Variations), Bach
#546 – 2018-03-29 – SCARLATTI – Domenico Scarlatti (1685 – 1757)
#552 – 2018-05-11 – DORIANNAKAMO – Acrylic on canvas original by Nick B
#558 – 2018-06-02 – LITOCOIN.GEDIMINAS_10_EUR – http://bitcoinlt.org/json/gediminas.json
#559 – 2018-06-02 – LITOCOIN.ZEMAITE_50_EUR – http://bitcoinlt.org/json/zemaite.json
#574 – 2018-11-27 – BETTHEFARM – 2c16f62361492d89288fe57a094dd41b7a520afd816444a74eb9b8077c9aa9ee 1040×750
From these, BETTHEFARM, seems to be the only immutable one (assuming there exists a file matching the hash).
2019
This year was even more modest with only 16 NFTs.
Here’s the full list:
#581 – 2019-01-28 – KALEIDOSCOPE.The_worlds_first_ever_longest_digital_asset_name_and_an_experiment_of_an_experiment_on_the_blockchain_verified_forever_by_the_counterparty_protocol_and_bitcoin_OPreturn
#582 – 2019-01-28 – CORNFETTI.GOLD
#583 – 2019-02-03 – A7961279007182509000 – my first diamond
#584 – 2019-02-18 – A222222222222222220
#585 – 2019-02-18 – A333333333333333330 – res.indiesquare.me/json/A333333333333333330.json
#586 – 2019-02-27 – DUTCHIE
#587 – 2019-03-11 – GESAMTKUNSTW.ERK – https://medium.com/chain-of-thoughts/must-we-all-become-a-gesamtkunstwerk-b72fa6098930
#588 – 2019-03-15 – A7000741592371154007 – res.indiesquare.me/json/A7000741592371154007.json
#589 – 2019-03-22 – A11115895965225877627 – imgur/x8qOgim.jpg;Rare Buddies
#590 – 2019-04-09 – CORNAN.2nd_Painting_Cornan_Versus_Cerberus – https://johnnydollar.biz/cornan2/
#591 – 2019-05-01 – GESAMTKUNSTW
#592 – 2019-05-14 – PUREPEYE – The certificate of title to the 925 silver coin of Pepecash logo and Pepeye on the second side. Weight 38.8 g Diameter 4 cm Height 3 mm Purity mark 925 State brand of Estonia
#593 – 2019-05-18 – RAREAFALPHA – RARE AF 2 ALPHA
#594 – 2019-05-18 – RAREAFALPHA.RAREAFBETA – Official Rare AF 2 Beta
#595 – 2019-07-10 – A11193200542304142967 – imgur/6kQAPNa.jpg;REAL FAKETOSHI MASK
#596 – 2019-07-15 – CORNPAX – one of a kind vaporizer
One that really stands out is GESAMTKUNSTW.ERK by Theo Goodman. It represents his article about scarcity in digital art. A must-read!
2020
Yet another lean year with only 20 NFTs.
#597 – 2020-01-08 – A11141809639409468637 – imgur/Vjxz2bK.jpg;Blockchain Hammer
#598 – 2020-01-08 – A11174469979200567808 – imgur/L1DWDfk.jpg;Used Tokens
#599 – 2020-01-09 – A11142014366777926210 – imgur/hQUbUaL.png;Priced in you think
#600 – 2020-02-18 – A11188317251960334668
#601 – 2020-02-18 – A11124460298792743820 – imgur/0IDUyyX.gif;Experience and Return
#602 – 2020-02-18 – A11168525478190133760 – imgur/M9ekdRo.png;We wish you the best of
#603 – 2020-02-19 – A4552152689151614000 – Dabville
#604 – 2020-03-01 – A17441587710285617000 – http://bayimg.com/BaNiKaAGo
#605 – 2020-03-07 – A11115868125750457703 – imgur/4LzVull.jpg;Non-Fungible John
#606 – 2020-03-07 – A11196245818059936074 – imgur/2VTarpe.jpg;Art
#607 – 2020-03-07 – BVBTC – VonBitcoinArt.com
#608 – 2020-08-23 – A11170681738858187779 – imgur/2jZfxGK.jpg;Grafted Mother & Child
#609 – 2020-09-14 – MOHINI.Pleasure_Siezure_ver-b – imgur/FVr4nZP.jpg;Pleasure Siezure [ver.b]: presence of a positive emotional experience with pleasure, bliss, joy, heightened self-awareness or ecstasy
#610 – 2020-10-03 – COPYCATS
#611 – 2020-10-16 – COLOURS
#612 – 2020-10-16 – WORDPLAY
#613 – 2020-10-17 – PANPSYCHISM
#614 – 2020-10-18 – LUCIDDREAM
#615 – 2020-10-25 – CHRYSOPOEIA
#616 – 2020-11-01 – A11160603865229875139 – imgur/3pOJ9cz.jpg;Naiche Son of Cochise
#617 – 2020-11-16 – TYPOGRAPHY
#618 – 2020-11-20 – A11153995295883985230 – imgur/UEc9XW0.png;Look at me, space man
#619 – 2020-12-28 – A11168287785544835045 – imgur/53ygKCq.jpg;5:30 Nate
No new innovations, as far as I can tell, but the trend of pointing aa non-fungible token to a jpeg starts to manifest. The standard of choice is xchain’s imgur format. If you’re not familiar with it, set token description to imgur/xxx.jpg;title where the full url is https://i.imgur.com/xxx.jpg.
I am not a big fan because the ID is not a checksum. It’s a random string chosen by Imgur.
For a truly immutable submission, there is a simple workaround. Upload image to imgur. Download the image from imgur again. Get the sha256 hash. Set description toimgur/xxx.jpg;title sha256. Now you have a perfectly immutable NFT compatible with xhcain.
2021
Activity went through the roof in 2021! More than 4000 new NFTs are recorded. This is more than six times the entire supply from all previous years!
Two projects take up the lion’s share though.
There are 1776 unique Bootlegpepe tokens where each represents a card from the Rare Pepe directory. The ethics can be discussed but the issuer did at least make it clear that these are not the originals.
A total of 2092 numeric NFTs were registered, most of these referencing titles from art history.
These two projects aside, 267 NFTs were issued (in my copy of the DB – which only goes to November). Still a decent number compared to previous years. These seem to be from a variety of artists – lots of great art! I will make no attempt to rank them. Instead I list a few that stand out in other ways.
#626 – 2021-03-06 – SATOSHINFT – First single satoshi NFT
This is the first time supply is locked at 0.00000001 tokens. This is technically one non-fungible unit too, showcasing how to make an NFT of a divisible asset.
#628 – 2021-03-19 – OLGANFT – imgur/f02Lt4O.png;OLGANFT
This NFT is a screenshot of the chat where the discovery of OLGA is first announced by twitter user @C0rnh0li0.
#664 – 2021-04-04 – XCPTORCH.Chiguireitor – RIP John… The XCP Torch will forever burn in your honor brother!
In memory of Counterparty Legend John Villar.
#670 – 2021-05-09 – ITWITTER.1—-@droplister—-19QWXpMXeLkoEKEJv2xo9rn8wkPCyxACSX – Appropriation Art Act NFT ITWITTER subasset #1
By 2014 token art pioneer NILIcoins.
#677 – 2021-05-27 – SARUTOBIONE – EverdreamSoft Crystal Collection Sarutobi print nro 1
Unique collection of original artworks. Read more about the Crystal Collection.
#678 – 2021-06-11 – THING – there can be only one
Token destruction was a new feature introduced in 2021. Joe Looney saw the possibility of destroying all but one token – a new way of creating an NFT.
#2107 – 2021-08-25 – NFTLL – 29.979200, 31.134200
These are the GPS coordinates of the Giza Pyramids. A google search also relate these to Bitcorn Crops…
#3448 – 2021-09-06 – DJPEPE.SOUNDMONEYLP01 – imgur/L4X9Abu.jpg;SOUNDMONEYLP01
Several subasset NFTs were created from the old DJPEPE card.
#4724 – 2021-10-25 – PEPEMOSAIC.ONE – 39″ x 39″ Framed Sad Pepe Mosaic on canvas created with the 1774 cards of the Rare Pepe Collection. Auctioning for charity in NYC during NFT.NYC 2021
Check out the full Counterparty NFT Timeline.
Dogeparty NFTs
Counterparty’s sister platform on Dogecoin had 17 NFTs issued in August 2014. The first one is called THEONE with title “My precious…”.
No more NFTs were created until Dogeparty woke up after half a decade of hibernation in October 2021.
Shortly after its reboot, the ultra creative Doge community has come up with many more NFTs which you can view on the Dogeparty NFT Timeline.
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