Bitcoin Ordinals Gaming Project Bits Slashes Price, Supply After ‘Misjudging’ Market

After the late Tuesday launch of the Bitcoin Ordinals gaming project Bits failed to pull in as much demand as expected, the project announced on Wednesday that it was slashing prices and the total supply of its  assets.

“A stumble at the start never determines the rest of the journey,” pseudonymous DFZ Labs co-founder Betty said on Twitter. “While we own misjudging the market for supply and price here, we’re moving forward with an amazing team and adjusted supply/price.”

Betty did not immediately respond to Decrypt’s request for comment.

Incubated by DFZ Labs, the creative studio behind the Ethereum-based Deadfellaz NFTs, Bits is a collection of 10,000 Bitcoin Ordinal inscriptions that launched on Magic Eden’s Bitcoin Ordinals marketplace.

In a statement last week, Betty said DFZ Labs is supporting an effort to create something on Bitcoin that’s intended to bring together gamers, creators, and Ordinals enthusiasts into a collaborative framework. The end goal was for a core team to work with Bits asset holders to collectively develop a playable game that would be widely released to the public.

“Building a gaming ecosystem on Bitcoin around Ordinals offers the potential to leverage Bitcoin's security, stability, and decentralization,” Betty told Decrypt’s GG at the time. She said the project was “providing indie developers with the financial incentives and opportunities of the Bitcoin ecosystem to create products that gamers actually want to play.”

According to the Bits Twitter account, the cost of minting a Bits inscription would be reduced to 0.002 BTC (just over $100), down from 0.006 BTC (around $300), and the supply would be cut to 3,000 inscriptions—down from the original 10,000.

With further details available on the project’s Discord server, Bits said the mint would be open to the public for 15 hours.

When asked if refunds would be issued to collectors who minted a Bits inscription for more than the current 0.002 BTC price, Bits said collectors would be refunded the difference or dropped more Bits depending on the collector’s preference.

Betty pushed back on the assertion that the Bits project was a cash grab, but acknowledged that the project was “ambitious.”

“The market definitely spoke with this one; yes, I agree,” Betty said. “It was ambitious, but not a cash grab—there is very real direction and [development] that warrants such a runway.

“That being said, despite positive response and packed allowlists, it just didn’t align with market conditions, and that is our hurdle to cross now—which we will,” she continued. “I appreciate your feedback and also the Deadfellaz love.”

Edited by Ryan Ozawa.