Yuga Labs’ first Bitcoin NFT auction nets $16.5M in 24 hours

The highest of the 288 bidders forked out just over 7 BTC for one of the 288 Bitcoin Ordinals-based NFTs up for auction.

The auction for Yuga Labs’ inaugural Bitcoin Ordinal nonfungible token (NFT) collection has ended, netting the firm $16.5 million in just 24 hours. 

A total of 288 bidders won one of the Bitcoin NFTs from the “TwelveFold” collection. Yuga said the winners will receive their inscription within one week, while the unsuccessful bids will have their bid amount returned within 24 hours.

The TwelveFold auction has ended. Congratulations to the top 288 bidders – you will receive your inscription within one week. Valid bids that did not rank in the top 288 will have their bid amount returned to their receiving address within 24 hours.

— Yuga Labs (@yugalabs) March 6, 2023

The auction yielded 735 BTC worth an estimated $16.5 million at current prices. The highest of the 288 bidders paid just over 7 BTC or $161,000 for one of the pieces.

Yuga announced the collection in late February, describing it as a “base 12 art system localized around a 12×12 grid, a visual allegory for the cartography of data on the Bitcoin blockchain.”

It comprises a limited edition collection of 300 generative pieces inscribed on Satoshis on the BTC network. The lucky winners were eager to share their new NFTs online:

I was lucky enough to place a winning bid for a @yugalabs #Twelvefold #BTC ordinal. Can’t wait to see how this ages in the decades to come. Won’t ever catch me fading #yuga. Also… Massive props to @nftsupply for the help setting up a wallet etc. He’s a huge resource for us all. pic.twitter.com/g8fSDIfhzX

— Carsonturner.eth ATL (@carsonturner) March 6, 2023

Related: Nifty News: Yuga Labs jumps on Ordinals hype

As reported by Cointelegraph, Yuga Labs received backlash over the weekend from the crypto community who identified flaws in how it conducted the auction for the Ordinals collection.