bitcoin ordinals
Trader Updates Outlook on Ordinals Token That’s Surged Over 2,700% in Three Months, Warns Solana Could Go Lower
A widely followed cryptocurrency analyst and trader is expressing bullish sentiment on the Bitcoin (BTC) ecosystem tokens over the medium term. The trader pseudonymously known as Altcoin Sherpa tells his 205,600 followers on the X social media platform that he expects Bitcoin Ordinals (ORDI), a protocol that allows text and images to be inscribed on […]
The post Trader Updates Outlook on Ordinals Token That’s Surged Over 2,700% in Three Months, Warns Solana Could Go Lower appeared first on The Daily Hodl.
Bitcoin dev denies adding inscriptions to National Vulnerability Database
Bitcoin core developer Luke Dashjr said he played no part in flagging Bitcoin inscriptions as a cybersecurity threat with the NVD, as the listing received a “5.3 Medium” severity score.
Bitcoin core developer Luke Dashjr has denied playing any part in adding Bitcoin inscriptions as a cybersecurity risk on the United States National Vulnerability Database’s (NVD) Common Vulnerabilities and Exposure (CVE) list.
Dashjr courted controversy in a Dec. 6 post to X (formerly Twitter) claiming that inscriptions — used by the Ordinals protocol and BRC-20 creators to embed data on satoshis — exploit a Bitcoin Core vulnerability to “spam the blockchain.”
The Bitcoin network has seen increased congestion over the past few months due to a wider craze around Ordinals’ nonfungible token inscriptions and BRC-20 token minting.
Bitcoin inscriptions added to US National Vulnerability Database
The United States National Vulnerability Database (NVD) flagged Bitcoin’s inscriptions as a cybersecurity risk on Dec. 9.
The National Vulnerability Database (NVD) flagged Bitcoin’s inscriptions as a cybersecurity risk on Dec. 9, calling attention to the security flaw that enabled the development of the Ordinals Protocol in 2022.
According to the database records, a datacarrier limit can be bypassed by masking data as code in some versions of Bitcoin Core and Bitcoin Knots. "As exploited in the wild by Inscriptions in 2022 and 2023," reads the document.
Being added to the NVD’s list means that a specific cybersecurity vulnerability has been recognized, cataloged, and deemed important for public awareness. The database is managed by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), an agency of the U.S. Department of Commerce.
Bitcoin Ordinals ORDI token tops $1B market cap after 850% monthly gain
Following an outsized rally, ORDI became the first BRC-20 token to breach a $1 billion market capitalization.
The Bitcoin Ordinals-based ORDI token has become the first BRC-20 token to top a $1 billion market capitalization after staging triple-digit monthly and weekly percentage gains.
ORDI notched a new all-time high of over $65 on Dec. 5, according to CoinGecko data.
The sudden ORDI price uptick saw it become the first BRC-20 token to reach a $1 billion market cap on Dec.
ORDI has dropped slightly from its high and is trading under $61, which is still an over 2,000% increase from its Sept.
Bitcoin Ordinals was first launched in January by Casey Rodarmor.
Related: Riot Platforms buys $291M in BTC rigs as miners rake it in from Ordinals
Ordinals-inscribed assets rapidly gained in popularity with the wider blockchain community. After a brief decline in inscription activity in October, Binance’s decision to list ORDI on Nov.
Bitcoin NFT marketplace Bioniq eyes lofty goal of alleviating network congestion
Bioniq operates on the Internet Computer Protocol, tapping into native Bitcoin integration to ease the network congestion and high fees associated with Ordinals inscriptions.
A new Bitcoin nonfungible token (NFT) marketplace aims to reduce network fees associated with the advent of Bitcoin Ordinals inscriptions by tapping into the Internet Computer Protocol (ICP).
Developed off the back of the creation of Bitcoin Ordinals in early 2023, Bioniq operates on the ICP and taps into its native Bitcoin integration to power the trade of Bitcoin-based Ordinals inscriptions.
Speaking to Cointelegraph on the eve of the platform’s launch, Bioniq CEO and co-founder Bob Bodily said the project has been in development since February 2023. The team has built a marketplace featuring Ordinals smart contracts auctions on the ICP, a complete cross-chain wallet between Bitcoin and the ICP, as well as an inscription tool.
“It had only been two weeks after Casey Rodarmor released Ord 0.4.0, and I knew Ordinals were going to be absolutely massive.”
The Bioniq team highlighted the growth in the market capitalization of BRC-20 tokens since their inception in Jan. 2023. The market cap now exceeds $3 billion, with over 42.6 million Ordinals minted to date. This has directly affected Bitcoin network congestion, leading to a spike in Bitcoin (BTC) transaction fees last seen since 2021.
Bioniq’s platform features a smart wallet for users to manage private keys using Web3Auth. This allows users to log into the platform using conventional Web2 Google accounts while maintaining noncustodial control of their wallets and assets.
The platform also uses partially signed Bitcoin transactions (PSBTs) through the ICP’s Bitcoin network integration. This unlocks smart contract capabilities for Bitcoin, removing the need for users to use centralized cross-chain bridges.
ICP is a “fantastic Bitcoin sidechain”
Building on ICP also allows Bioniq to claim transaction finality times below two seconds, as well as zero gas or network fees. Its architecture provides optimized storage costs, averaging around $5 per gigabyte of data stored annually.
Bodily added that Toniq, the studio behind Bioniq, has been developing on the ICP since May 2021 and has extensive experience building smart contract wallets, marketplaces, NFT launchpads and collateralized NFT lending protocols:
“ICP is a fantastic Bitcoin sidechain right now because it has wonderful Bitcoin primitives at the protocol layer.”
Bodily explains that ICP operates a Bitcoin light node running fully on-chain, which facilitates reading the Bitcoin blockchain via native smart contract calls. The ICP also has a threshold digital signature algorithm, known as an Elliptic Curve Digital Signature Algorithm. The implementation allows ICP smart contracts to sign layer-1 Bitcoin transactions and broadcast them to the mempool.
“These protocol primitives also enabled us to build an Ordinals wrapper entirely at the application layer; we didn’t have to touch the consensus layer of the protocol at all. So it is very fast to build Bitcoin tech on ICP right now,” Bodily added.
Bitcoin users and trust assumptions
Cointelegraph also inquired whether Bioniq’s wrapping process could be a potential barrier to entry for users. Bodily admits that while the process is largely automated by the Bioniq wallet and only requires BTC, there are two considerations that are pertinent for more discerning users.
“Wrapping requires a Bitcoin transaction. This means you have to pay in order to wrap. This is a significant barrier. One way we are addressing the problem is by integrating open Nostr PSBT listings into Bioniq,” Bodily explained.
This integration means that PSBT listings stored on Nostr through decentralized Ordinals marketplaces OpenOrdex or Deezy Place will be accessible on Bioniq. He added that it removes the need to wrap Bitcoin transactions, as users could list directly on Bioniq using open PSBTs.
Perhaps more importantly, Bodily explained that the wrapping process requires “trust assumptions” on both protocols:
“Wrapping over to ICP means in addition to trusting Bitcoin, you are now trusting the Internet Computer Protocol. Some Bitcoin users won’t want the counterparty risk of bridging assets to another chain.”
Bodily adds that Bioniq is focusing on developing user experience ahead of inheriting Bitcoin’s security, which is ensured by the finality of layer-1 transactions. However, he envisions a “nice decentralization path” for applications like Bioniq.
This would involve the evolution from being built on a sidechain with additional trust assumptions to “becoming a Bitcoin sovereign rollup on ICP that is trust minimized.” The final step would see Bioniq becoming a Bitcoin zero-knowledge rollup (ZK-rollup) on the ICP with no additional trust assumptions, inheriting the full security and decentralization of Bitcoin.
“ICP fits perfectly into this plan as well because ICP can provide a replicated execution environment (decentralized sequencer) or validium (extra off-Bitcoin storage for rollups).”
Banking on Bitcoin’s value proposition
A number of NFT marketplaces already offer Bitcoin Ordinals auctions and trading, which begs the question of what an exclusively Ordinals platform will bring to the ecosystem.
Bodily believes that existing offerings that featured “softer pivots” to Ordinals on their platforms were hamstrung by confusing user experiences. Developing a “dedicated Bitcoin Ordinals marketplace, built for Bitcoin users natively” hinges on developing a native cross-chain, BTC-ICP wallet.
In addition, Bitcoin’s unchallenged position as the preeminent and largest cryptocurrency by market cap remains another drawcard for the continued interest in Bitcoin NFTs into the future.
“If you look at the numbers, 89% of people in the world have heard about Bitcoin, Bitcoin accounts for around 50% of the total crypto market cap, and Ordinals have done over $500 million in volume this year — so there is massive demand.”
Bioniq joins the likes of Ordinals Market as a Bitcoin-only Ordinals marketplace. Gamma is another Ordinals marketplace that directly mints to Bitcoin’s layer-1 chain. Ordswap was an early Ordinals marketplace that has since closed down after losing control of its website to hackers. Meanwhile, multichain platforms like Magic Eden prominently list Bitcoin Ordinals NFTs.
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Bitcoin transaction fees flip Ethereum’s as Ordinals hype returns
Bitcoin transaction fees have soared above Ethereum’s amid a renewed appetite for Ordinals-inscribed assets.
Average daily transaction fees on Bitcoin (BTC) have flipped with Ethereum following a frenzy of Ordinals-related activity on the Bitcoin network.
On Nov. 20, the average daily transaction fee for Bitcoin stood at $10.34, while Ethereum’s transaction fees came to an average of $8.43, according to BitInfoChart data.
Bitcoin’s average daily trading fee notched a new six-month high on Nov.16, reaching a peak of $18.67, while Ethereum fees reached $7.90.
The sudden uptick in Bitcoin transaction fees stems from a renewed market appetite for assets inscribed with the Ordinals Protocol — a tool for creating nonfungible token (NFT)-like assets and BRC-20 tokens on Bitcoin.
Following a significant lull in activity between Sept. 25 and Oct. 23, Ordinals-based assets saw a drastic uptick beginning in late October, per Dune Analytics data.
Related: Bitcoin Ordinals team launches nonprofit to grow protocol development
Since Oct. 24, over 6 million Ordinal assets have been created, resulting in more than 800 BTC in fees — worth $30 million — being redistributed to the network.
The uptick in Ordinals inscription activity compounded as ORDI, the second largest BRC-20 token by market cap, was listed on Binance on Nov. 7. The listing spurred a wider wave of BRC-20 buying activity from traders with the price of the ORDI token jumping by just over 50% on the day.
Additionally, on Nov. 17, the Ordinals-based project Taproot Wizards announced a $7.5 million seed round.
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Polygon gas fees spike 1000% amid Ordinals-inspired token craze
Gas fees on the Polygon network reached as high as $0.10 during a mad rush to mint an Ordinals-inspired token called POLS.
Gas fees on Ethereum layer-2 Polygon (MATIC) surged more than 1,000% to reach a peak of $0.10 as users inundated the network with the minting of Ordinals-inspired tokens dubbed POLS.
In a Nov. 16 X (formerly Twitter) post Polygon founder Sandeep Nailwal shared his surprise at the elevated transaction activity on the network saying the spike could’ve been due to the launch of a new Polygon-based nonfungible token (NFT) collection.
What is going on on @0xPolygon POS chain? 6m transactions in last 24 hrs. 170 TPS on average. 1mn+ MATIC burnt by the protocol. The chain worked smoothly, gas fees went crazy though but no reorgs or 0 blocks etc.
— Sandeep Nailwal | sandeep. polygon (@sandeepnailwal) November 16, 2023
I hear there is some game Baby Shark Launching, could that be the…
The reason for the uptick in network activity and sudden spike in gas fees seems to be coming mainly from a frenzy of enthusiasm for minting the new POLS token.
Dune Analytics data showed the rush of minting activity for POLS coincided with more than 102 million MATIC tokens — worth $86 million at current prices— being used as gas.
The POLS token is built on a protocol dubbed PRC-20, which operates similarly to the Bitcoin Ordinals-derived BRC-20 token standard.
According to data from Ethereum Virtual Machine data provider EVM, only 8.7% of the total POLS supply has been minted, with just over 18,100 owners claiming the token.
Related: Bitcoin Ordinals see resurgence from Binance listing
At the time of publication, Polygon gas fees have since returned to typical levels, settling at around 882 gwei. Gas fees quantify the amount of computing effort needed to conduct a transaction on a given blockchain, with 1 gwei equal to approximately 0.000000001 MATIC.
The Bitcoin network witnessed a similar, albeit more prolonged, spike in activity in May this year following the release of the Ordinals protocol, which allowed users to mint NFTs directly onto the Bitcoin blockchain.
The ensuing frenzy for Ordinals NFTs and BRC-20 tokens saw Bitcoin fees reach levels not since April 2021, a development that saw more traditionally-minded Bitcoiners such as Samson Mow and Adam Back cast down the NFT protocol and token standard as wasteful.
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Ordswap urges users to recover keys after losing control of website
Before it was taken down, Ordswap users said the compromised website directed users to a phishing link.
Ordswap, a marketplace that allows users to inscribe, auction, and trade Bitcoin Ordinals, has devised a method for users to retrieve their private keys as it scrambles to regain control of its website domain.
In an Oct. 10 X (Twitter) post, the Ordswap X account shared an online tool that purports to help users who logged into the site through MetaMask to recover their Ordswap private keys, allowing them to move to other providers.
Source for metamask users to obtain key is now available below. You are able to import(hex) to Unisat. https://t.co/oETb7h7sA0 https://t.co/NGaaLiNNwW
— Ordswap (@ordswap) October 10, 2023
Hours earlier, on Oct. 9, Ordswap posted a stark warning to users not to connect to its domain as it was not in control of it. It pinned the issue on Netlify — a website development and hosting firm.
We are working on publishing source for metamask users to obtain their key if they have not already. The issue appears to be with Netlify, but we are still working through it. https://t.co/uYGxJkzGfj
— Ordswap (@ordswap) October 9, 2023
On the project’s Discord server, a member of Ordswap’s team and users reported that for a time, the website featured a button prompting users to connect their crypto wallet in an apparent attempt to phish users.
One X user reported the button was a wallet drainer — an increasingly popular tool deployed by crypto scammers. At the time of writing, Ordswap’s website automatically redirected to a competing marketplace RelayX.
An Ordswap team member on Discord claimed the project had not seen an impact on user private keys or assets due to the breach but added users could be compromised if they interacted with the site.
Related: FTX hacker could be using SBF trial as a smokescreen: CertiK
In late September, the website for the Ethereum-based automated market maker Balancer was compromised in a seemingly similar attack, with attackers making off with around $240,000 worth of funds.
Balancer later said it believed the exploiters undertook a social engineering attack on its DNS service provider EuroDNS which allowed attackers to input a prompt to trick users into approving a malicious contract that drains their wallet.
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Bitcoin Ordinals creator proposes to change inscription numbering system
Casey Rodarmor, the creator of Bitcoin Ordinals, clarified that the inscription numbers would only be changed, not scrapped entirely.
Bitcoin Ordinals’s creator and chief coder, Casey Rodarmor, has recently proposed changing the protocol’s numbering system with the aim of simplifying the project’s codebase.
Since the beginning of the Ordinals protocol, each nonfungible token (NFT) created using Ordinals was assigned a unique inscription number. They functioned similarly to serial numbers and have been an integral part of the digital art minted in the protocol.
I guess the cat is out of the bag! In short, I think that the effort to keep inscription numbers stable hasn't been worth it, and has led to ugly code and stalled development, since new changes need to be extremely and often awkardly careful not to change the numbers of old… https://t.co/SsEqjdtZFB
— Casey (@rodarmor) September 19, 2023
However, Rodarmor believes that keeping the inscription numbers stable has led to “ugly code and stalled development.” Because of this, the protocol’s chief coder proposed to make inscription numbers “permanently unstable,” which means that the numbering system that assigns unique numbers to inscriptions created in the Bitcoin network will be deprioritized.
According to Rodarmor, the move will simplify the protocol’s codebase and make it easier to make protocol changes easier in the future. The coder also clarified that inscription numbers would change but not be entirely scrapped. Rodarmor highlighted that new inscription numbers would be close to the old ones but might differ by 1%.
While many supported the move, others pointed out how users paid substantial amounts to get specific numbers and would be affected by the reorganization of numbers. Despite this, a community member noted that those who care about the numbering of the inscriptions can still sort the collectibles by their timestamps.
Related: Ordinals still make up majority of Bitcoin txs despite price collapse
Bitcoin Ordinals are artifacts that allow inscribing into a satoshi, which is the smallest denomination of Bitcoin (BTC). The protocol launched in January 2023, with thousands of inscriptions minted on the BTC network since. On Aug. 21, the NFT-like protocol accounted for 84.9% of all the activity in the Bitcoin network.
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