BitMEX Founder Launches Airheads NFT Collection

Arthur Hayes, founder of BitMEX, has opened the whitelist for his first Bitcoin Ordinals NFT collection called “Airheads.”

Collection Description

The collection consists of balloon-like characters that represent different levels of financial success. Hayes characterizes these characters as a “playful but degenerate” cast, drawing inspiration from the style of American artist Jeff Koons.

Collaboration with Oyl Wallet

Airheads is developed in collaboration with Oyl Wallet, launched recently, which includes Hayes’ family office, Maelstrom, as an investor. Oyl supports in-wallet whitelisting and minting, available exclusively through their wallet for the 10,000-piece Airheads collection.

Asset Representation

Characters in Airheads display varying degrees of “fatness,” symbolizing the minter’s Bitcoin and other assets held in their Oyl wallet. The collection features 10 tiers correlating to the digital portfolio size, encouraging an end to “rich oppression” and promoting wealth display.

Unique Features

The collection offers 25 randomly assigned “packaging” variants, with rarer elements granted to lower tiers to enhance value. Special characters are distributed evenly across tiers. Cole Jorissen, Airheads’ creative director, highlighted the project’s celebration of “wealth as a character-feature.”

Technical Impact

Hayes mentioned that these characters reflect asset weightings using tier differentiation, presenting a fun way to exhibit wealth. Domo, creator of BRC20, praised Oyl’s contributions to the space, stating that its tools could lead to a protocol development boom on Bitcoin.

Funding and Future Plans

Earlier this year, Oyl raised $3 million in pre-seed funding led by Arca, with additional contributions from Maelstrom and Domo. Oyl is dedicated to building a trading platform for the Bitcoin ecosystem, including a market aggregator for BRC-20 tokens and integration with the Bitcoin-focused DeFi platform OmniSat.