Bitcoin Boos are a collection of whimsical 101 Ordinals originals, concealed in plain sats for collectors to uncover. The collection was created and curated by the pseudonymous @KingBootoshi and @KingBlootoshi, and was designed to honor the golden age of Bitcoin’s digital artifacts. Bitcoin Boos is among the earliest Ordinals projects, launching in February 2023 just weeks after Casey Rodarmor debuted Ordinal theory. Boos has maintained a strong value, with a floor price of 0.29 BTC on Magic Eden at the time of this writing.
But there’s more to the Bitcoin Boos than their art. The project consists of two collections, which combine to form what they call the Boo Kingdom. The creators have also focused on integrating AI to bring the Boos to life, so to speak. This innovative technology demonstrates some of the possibilities that combining artificial intelligence and Ordinals can open up for collectors.
History of Bitcoin Boos
As noted above, the creators were very early adopters of Ordinal technology, during the sub 10k era. An early introduction to the concept came from seeing the Ordinal Punks collection (they ultimately made a tribute Boo in their honor). The founders were very driven by the concept of permanence that Ordinals could provide. The fact that one could “track ownership of data uploaded to Bitcoin that can never be erased or edited” was a major source of inspiration in joining the Ordinal ecosystem. The genesis collection, as they call it, has been a labor of love for Bootoshi and Blootoshi, who have dedicated much of the last two years to developing the Boo Kingdom.
In the first message on their Discord, the founders wrote that “the idea for this started as [they] have noticed inscription trading brings us back to true peer to peer trading,” calling Ordinals “the wild west of digital history.” But the value that really demonstrates the ethos of this collection is its focus on community-building. It’s a philosophy that has driven much of the project’s development. “What you should be most concerned about is building and nurturing your community,” said Bootoshi in an interview. “Many people who invest in a project and become a part of its Discord or community view it as more than an investment. It becomes a digital home, a place where they connect with like-minded individuals who share their passions and interests.”
Concept Behind Bitcoin Boos
The Boos artwork consists of pixelated ghosts with a 90s gamer aesthetic, each featuring different styles of clothing or representing recognizable cultural icons. But what sets these Ordinals apart from other collections is that they have personalities. Each Boo has its own story – and not just a simple backstory, either. They have their own sets of skills, attitudes and narrative. Think of the Boos as more of a character than a PFP. They come together in the colorful Boo Kingdom, where there are storybook-like retro games to be played, as well as plenty of humor and creativity.
Bitcoin Boos was able to achieve this artistic feat through their heavy emphasis on AI integration, which they’ve used to give the Boos their own “souls.” Bootoshi has stated in an interview that his highest ideal with the project was to use AI to bring their stories to life and to provide value to the project’s holders. Part of that involved developing an AI-driven RPG MUD game, but it goes much further. The characters themselves are live on Discord to chat with, powered by AI. In short, the Boos aren’t just utility-free artwork. They’re actual entities, designed to provide use and profit for the holders.
Development of Bitcoin Boos
One of the major challenges in building a collection so early was the lack of infrastructure to support it. Because Boos is a sub10K collection, it debuted at a time of relatively little development in the Ordinals space. This meant the founders had to confront the challenge of generating interest without user-friendly tools like Chrome extension wallets. The collection was able to partner for a launch with Magic Eden in March, but it had already been out for more than a month by the time it was able to do so.
The Boos founders initially used gaming to build their community. Each time a Boo was inscribed, the first member to identify it won it. They chose again to gamify their whitelist for later projects by having people communicate with the Boos through AI and build relationships with them in order to gain access. This has been a major part of their success; the Bitcoin Boos have been repeatedly cited for having a strong community on Discord and X.
Projects Associated with Bitcoin Boos
As mentioned above, the genesis Bitcoin Boos don’t stand alone. They are part of a wider ecosystem known as the Boo Kingdom, which also incorporates Bootallion, a “cursed collection of 1820 unique digital warriors, each inscribed under the revered Boo King.” The Bootallion is inscribed on Block 9 sats and presents on-chain provenance, with the entire collection tying back to inscription #3314. The founders have also worked on separate projects, such as the Ordinals Chadbot, a ChatGPT-style AI bot designed to answer questions about Ordinals.
