WHAT’S YOUR ROLE IN THE PROJECT AND WHAT DOES PIZZA RHINOS MEANS TO YOU?
My journey into Ordinals began about two years ago. Before that, I was working on building various tools for retroactive airdrops on EVM, Solana, and other platforms. I also managed a network of channels in Europe, which gave me a lot of experience in the space. When Bitcoin Ordinals emerged, I was immediately drawn to it. I could sense that something big was brewing.
I started by following Casey Rodarmor and closely observing the ecosystem. Back then, things were very experimental. I remember buying inscriptions and trading images when the process was still in its infancy. We didn’t have exchanges like today; transactions happened through Discord and even Google Sheets. It wasn’t very profitable, but it was fascinating.
Eventually, I decided to create my own collection. At first, I wasn’t entirely sure about the utility I wanted to provide, but as I connected with people who had successfully launched their own projects, my vision began to take shape. One thing became clear: the Bitcoin network was missing key tools, and I wanted to build something to address that gap.
To promote the tools I envisioned, I needed a strong NFT collection. I found an artist to create the initial designs for Pizza Rhinos. While I’m grateful for the work, I’ve been transparent about planning to update the artwork in the future to better align with the collection’s vision.
The journey to launch wasn’t easy. At the time, I had limited knowledge about inscriptions, but Greg—who some of you might know—was a tremendous help in that regard. I ended up investing more money and effort than I initially expected, but the experience was worth it. It took about two months of sleepless nights to pull everything together.
Unfortunately, the launch coincided with a market downturn, which wasn’t ideal. But we pushed through, and looking back, I’m proud of what we achieved. As the founder, I’ve been hands-on in every aspect of the project. From managing the launch to building the collection, it’s been a challenging but rewarding journey.
Today, Pizza Rhinos stands as more than just an NFT collection. It’s the foundation of the products we’re building, and there’s so much more to come. But we’ll get into that later.
WHAT INSPIRED THE UNIQUE CONCEPT OF USING “PIZZA SATS” AND EMBEDDING IT IN EVERY ASPECT OF PIZZA RHINOS, FROM THE PIXEL SIZE TO THE SERIAL NUMBERS?
It’s actually one of the collection’s most distinctive features, but not everyone picks up on it immediately. Every single piece in the Pizza Rhinos collection is inscribed entirely on Pizza sats—not just common sats or a mix, but exclusively Pizza sats. This was a deliberate choice to tie the entire collection to its thematic roots.
We went a step further by using 888 sats per inscription, which is almost 50% larger than the usual size. This decision was symbolic—it adds to the uniqueness of the collection and reinforces its connection to the “pizza” concept.
The inspiration for this idea actually traces back to Trevor and the Pizza Ninjas. Pizza Ninjas were my first significant investment in the Ordinals space. When they launched, it was an ambitious project with a strong social campaign. To get a whitelist spot, you had to invite people, and the mint price was relatively high, making it a risky move. Despite that, I saw potential in the project and fully immersed myself.
Joining the Pizza Ninjas community was a turning point for me. It not only deepened my understanding of how Ordinals work but also connected me with incredible people. I held on to my Pizza Ninjas for a long time, and when I began working on Pizza Rhinos, the community and Trevor were incredibly supportive.
Some people have referred to Pizza Rhinos as a derivative of Pizza Ninjas, but to me, it’s much more than that. While we share some thematic elements, Pizza Rhinos is its own entity with a unique vision and path. That said, I owe a lot to the Pizza Ninjas community and am incredibly grateful for the inspiration and support they provided. They’re part of the bigger “pizza family,” and I’m proud to be part of it.
HOW DOES THE PARENT-CHILD PROVENANCE FEATURE ENHANCE THE VALUE OR STORYTELLING OF THE PIZZA RHINOS COLLECTION?
The Parent-Child Provenance feature is all about creating structure and layering storytelling within the collection. It’s an excellent question, especially since we’re currently revisiting and refining how this structure works for Pizza Rhinos.
When we first launched the collection, the idea was straightforward: a “pizza parent” with 4,444 Pizza Rhinos as its children. These were pre-inscribed and originally intended for minting on Magic Eden. Unfortunately, we couldn’t finalize an agreement with Magic Eden and had to pivot to launching on Ozark. This shift led us to create a new collection called the Pizza Rhinos Pass. Everyone who minted a pass received two Rhinos.
As a result, only 2,222 Pizza Rhinos are currently in circulation—half of what was initially planned. This deviation disrupted the original Parent-Child structure, but we’re actively working on restructuring it. The plan is to align everything under one parent with 2,222 children and ensure that every future collection or product we release is inscribed under this parent. This approach will establish a coherent, on-chain structure, almost like building a decentralized company.
Another exciting aspect of the Parent-Child model is its potential for creating recursive collections. Pizza Rhinos already feature over 150 traits, and the Parent-Child structure allows these traits to mix dynamically, generating unique images. This feature provides technical flexibility and creative possibilities, enabling us to experiment with innovative ways of storytelling and utility.
For now, many see this as a technical novelty—a fun feature without immediate tangible value. However, for builders who take the time to understand and implement the Parent-Child structure, it demonstrates a deeper knowledge of how to develop on Bitcoin. For us, it’s not just a technical tool but a foundation for crafting something meaningful, unique, and forward-looking within the ecosystem.
THE PIZZA RHINOS MINT BOT WAS A MAJOR DEVELOPMENT IN 2024. CAN YOU ELABORATE ON HOW IT WORKS AND THE CHALLENGES IT AIMS TO SOLVE IN THE FCFS MINTING PROCESS?
My journey with NFTs started on Ethereum, Solana, and Base, where I gained significant experience working with minting solutions and bots. Over time, I had access to various bots capable of minting collections across different chains. For a while, I offered this capability to the Pizza Rhinos community as a kind of service. If someone held a Pizza Rhino, they could approach me, provide their wallet with a whitelist spot, and I would mint the collection for them. It worked well, but I realized there was an opportunity to build something tailored specifically for Bitcoin users.
The Pizza Rhinos Mint Bot was born from this idea. It aims to address a significant issue in the NFT space: inequality in first-come, first-serve (FCFS) minting processes. Here’s the problem—many experienced users, particularly those transitioning from Ethereum or Solana, already have access to advanced minting bots. These bots allow them to dominate FCFS mints, often scooping up large portions of a collection, only to dump the NFTs on secondary markets for profit. Meanwhile, true supporters of a project—those deeply invested in its vision—are left with no chance to mint during the initial phase and are forced to buy on the secondary market, often at inflated prices.
The Pizza Rhinos Mint Bot is designed to level the playing field. It ensures that users, regardless of their technical expertise or access to advanced tools, have a fair shot at minting. For now, the bot is partially operational. It can be launched via a terminal without a visual interface, meaning users still need to submit a form and provide access for me to handle the minting process.
In the future, the bot will be fully developed with a user-friendly interface, complete with buttons, wallet integration, and customizable settings like proxies. Users will be able to manage everything themselves, from entering their private key to configuring the bot for FCFS mints. This will empower individuals to mint NFTs without relying on secondary markets or competing with unfair advantages.
As for the technical details, they remain under wraps. The competition in the minting solution space is fierce, and much of the innovation lies in the inner workings of the bot. While I can’t share specifics, I can say that our solution will outperform existing tools, providing a superior and fair experience for Bitcoin NFT enthusiasts.
YOU RECENTLY ANNOUNCED THE 1:1 AIRDROP OF NEW RHINOS WITH FRESH ART FOR EXISTING HOLDERS. HOW DOES THIS UPDATE REFLECT YOUR LONG-TERM VISION FOR THE COLLECTION AND ITS COMMUNITY?
Community is at the heart of everything we’re building with Pizza Rhinos. I’ll admit that building and engaging communities or running large-scale marketing campaigns hasn’t always been my strong suit. In the early days, breaking into alpha groups and building meaningful networks was a challenge. However, as builders, our focus has always been on delivering tangible value, and that’s what has drawn people to us.
Over time, we’ve gathered a core group of supporters who genuinely believe in the project. While some early holders with short-term goals (the “paper hands”) flipped their Rhinos and moved on, others have joined us because they see the value in what we’re creating. This core community has been instrumental—they test our products, provide feedback, and support our vision. While we may not yet have thousands of followers, the strength of our community lies in its quality, not just quantity.
The 1:1 airdrop of new Rhinos with fresh art is a way to give back to this incredible community. It’s not just about replacing the art; it’s about showing our commitment to growth and evolution. I’ve been open about the fact that I’m not 100% satisfied with the original art, and this update reflects our desire to continuously improve—not only the art but also our tools, products, and overall experience for our holders.
By providing holders with better, more beautiful Rhinos, we’re reinforcing the idea that Pizza Rhinos is a collection that’s always striving for excellence. This airdrop is a thank-you to our supporters and a demonstration of our commitment to making this project better over time. Whether it’s through upgraded art, enhanced tools, or more opportunities like whitelist spots, we’re focused on rewarding our community and building something that continues to evolve and provide value.
This update isn’t just an improvement; it’s a statement about who we are as builders and where we’re headed as a project.
