The Bitcoin Shrooms are the first Ordinals collection inscribed on the Bitcoin blockchain, with inscriptions ranging from #19 to #1075. This collection includes 222 unique pieces, each presenting a pixelated reflection on the first 13 years of Bitcoin.
The founder and inscriber of this collection, known as "Shroomtoshi," was once asked what the Bitcoinshrooms mean to him. His response was:
It is a pixelated recap of the first 13 years of bitcoin, a homage to the 8-bit style of art that expresses a slight nostalgia for the 90s, a way to soil 10s of thousands of SSDs spread across the world with my art (->next level cyber-vandalism), a tool to raise awareness about bitcoin and what I personally view as its core principles, an ironic way to vent at what I see as its annoying pop elements and aberrations. It is a thank you to those I worked with and learned from, to those who are not around anymore but whose name should not be forgotten. It is knowledge condensed and a journey for the curious. Alright imma stop right here cuz again, I'm not Peter Falk in the princess bride.
The Bitcoinshrooms collection encompasses various themes. The story begins with the Protoshrooms, which introduce the collection. These are among the earliest inscriptions, with 12 Shrooms ranging from #19 to #51.
Other themes within the Bitcoinshrooms explore topics such as Bitcoin best practices, trading, early Bitcoin builders, sovereignty, and more.
Shroomtoshi departed the space on May 7, 2024. Some draw parallels between Shroomtoshi creating a microverse version of Bitcoin on Ordinals and Satoshi Nakamoto's creation of Bitcoin itself.
This was his final message:
-There are no social media accounts or projects of any kind officially affiliated with the BitcoinShrooms art collection. Beware of scammers.
-Anyone should feel free to do what they want with the art, in the spirit of FOSS.
-A year and a half in and I still haven’t figured out if a satoshi can be a shitcoin.
-Despite everything, bitcoin is still worth fighting for.
Thank you all for the ride, it’s been fun. I’ve moved on to other things. ST