The NodeMonkes NFT collection has leaped from 10th to 5th place in overall market cap rankings this week. These pixelated primates are native to the Bitcoin blockchain.

CoinGecko data shows NodeMonkes trading at a cool 0.22 BTC per NFT, marking a 15.3% increase in the last 24 hours. The collection’s seven-day performance is even more impressive, boasting a 67.4% surge. Over the past month, NodeMonkes has seen a solid 40.4% uptick in value.

The @nodemonkes NFT collection jumped from rank #10 to #5 in the last 7 days, becoming the fifth largest NFT collection by market cap. pic.twitter.com/cBRhJhWr7X

— CoinGecko (@coingecko) September 24, 2024

The growth of NodeMonkes

NodeMonkes isn’t just another copycat NFT project. Launched in December 2023, it’s one of the first major collections to utilize Bitcoin’s Ordinals protocol, inscribing each 28×28 pixel artwork directly onto a satoshi, the smallest unit of Bitcoin.

The anonymous creator behind NodeMonkes deliberately delayed the launch to allow the Ordinals ecosystem to mature. This strategic move seems to be paying off, as the collection is gaining traction.

The initial drop of NodeMonkes used a Dutch auction format, starting at 0.21 BTC and decreasing by 0.005 BTC every hour until all 8,000 available pieces found homes.

Now, as NodeMonkes climbs the ranks, it’s challenging the notion that Ethereum is the only playground for serious NFT projects.

The question now is: will NodeMonkes maintain its momentum, or is this just another temporary surge that can fade in some days.