A crypto trading veteran is expecting bullish continuation for two altcoins with the Bitcoin (BTC) ecosystem as the digital asset markets flash more strength. Pseudonymous trader The Flow Horse tells his 188,000 followers on the social media platform X that he’s building a position in Stacks (STX). Stacks is a project that aims to enable […]
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Bitcoin (BTC) network fees are seeing a massive surge in November as demand for ordinals floods the leading blockchain. Data from CryptoFees.info finds that BTC’s transaction fees skyrocketed from $779,549 at the start of the month to a peak of $11.63 million on November 17th, an increase of 1,391%. The number has slightly retraced and […]
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A widely followed analyst and trader is expressing bullish sentiment on a multi-million dollar altcoin as the total crypto market cap edges toward $1.5 trillion. The analyst pseudonymously known as The Flow Horse tells his 185,800 followers on the X social media platform that blockchain-based artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning platform Fetch.ai (FET) could […]
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A six-month-old altcoin project is soaring after earning surprise support from crypto exchange Binance, the largest digital asset exchange in the world. After Binance announced on November 7th that it was listing ORDI for trading, the new token soared from $7.43 to a high of $23.80, a 220% increase. ORDI tokens, which adhere to the “BRC-20” […]
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The ORDI token, which was not developed by the creator of Bitcoin Ordinals, has surged by 41% in the past 24 hours.
Ordinals, a BRC-20 token collection minted on the Bitcoin blockchain, have surged by 40.8% in the past 24 hours to $10.19 after listing on crypto exchange Binance.
According to Binance’s Nov. 7 announcement, users can now trade Ordinals (ORDI) against Tether (USDT), Bitcoin (BTC), and the Turkish lira. Binance claims that it did not charge developers any listing fees for the ORDI token and that withdrawals will open on Nov. 8. As part of initial incentives, the first 1,000 users who deposit at least 72 ORDI to the exchange received a 50 USDT trading rebate voucher.
“ORDI is a relatively new token that poses a higher than normal risk, and as such will likely be subject to high price volatility.”
Bitcoin Ordinals is a numbering system that assigns a unique number to each individual satoshi, or 1/100 million of a Bitcoin, enabling tracking and transfer. Combined with the inscription process, which adds an additional layer of data to each satoshi, this allows users to mint unique digital assets on the Bitcoin blockchain. The current token listed on Binance, ORDI, is not associated with developers of Bitcoin Ordinals.
Invented by Web3 developer Rodarmor in January, BRC-20 tokens have surged in popularity as one of the largest technological advancements in a 15-year-old blockchain. Self-custody wallet providers, such as BitKeep (now Bitget Wallet), have enabled BRC-20 token deposits and withdrawals since June. The total market cap of BRC-20 tokens currently stands at $1.34 billion.
Related: Bitcoin Ordinals’ total mintage fees increase 700% from April
Bitcoin Ordinals are creating new possibilities for the Bitcoin network by allowing users to create inscriptions stored on individual Satoshis.
For more than a decade, the primary narratives surrounding Bitcoin (BTC) have focused on its role as a peer-to-peer digital cash and store of value.
However, all indications suggest that we are witnessing a significant shift in this paradigm.
Since the beginning of 2023, one of the most discussed topics in the Bitcoin ecosystem has been the use of the world's leading blockchain to store information that goes beyond the previously mentioned use cases.
Related: Bitcoin fragments could become more valuable than full Bitcoins
If you have been isolated in an igloo during this crypto winter and are unaware of the developments, here is a brief overview.
In January 2023, developer Casey Rodamor introduced Ordinals to the world, a protocol that allows you to permanently inscribe any file into the Bitcoin blockchain.
This wasn't the first method created for such an action, but it gained the most traction, creating a trend where nonfungible token (NFT) collections, music, video games, journalistic articles, and even WikiLeaks records began to be stored in an eternal and immutable manner on the world's largest decentralized network.
'Anonymous activist group is inscribing the Afghan war logs published by WikiLeaks into #Bitcoin to protest imprisonment of Julian Assange' @BitcoinMagazine #FreeAssange https://t.co/1huZ6J9SDM
— WikiLeaks (@wikileaks) October 23, 2023
As a result, experiments, innovation, and the perspective of the Bitcoin network as a vast decentralized database began to simmer.
Despite being less than a year old, the Ordinals protocol has been evolving remarkably to become more efficient and to enable bolder use cases.
One of the noteworthy enhancements is the technique of recursive inscriptions, which allows users to circumvent the 4-megabyte storage limit per block, enabling the insertion of larger data on the Bitcoin blockchain.
As an example — illustrated by the image below — I inscribed an entire article from Cointelegraph on Bitcoin using a recursive inscription.
In total, eight inscriptions were made to achieve the final result, at a total file size of 5.22 kilobytes. (That’s small.) Seven of the inscriptions were images from the article, each stored individually in a Satoshi through the Ordinals protocol. The eighth inscription comprises a code that contains the article's text and issues requests to retrieve the images from the other Satoshis.
Related: Bitcoin has entered a civil war — Over ‘art’
This assembly allowed for the complete article to be eternally inscribed on the Bitcoin blockchain, a feat that couldn't have been achieved in a single step while maintaining quality.
Leonidas, a developer within the Ordinals community, offered an even more profound perspective on the matter on Twitter, writing:
What if lots of people upload lots of packages of code into the Bitcoin Blockchain? So now there is a huge repository of packages for developers to build on top of. This would unlock powerful use cases that could never be accommodated in under 4 MB. The most complex pieces of software are just a bunch of code compiled together after all. Now it becomes possible to put a complex 3D video game fully on-chain on Bitcoin.
WTF are recursive inscriptions?
— Leonidas (@LeonidasNFT) June 12, 2023
Here is everything you need to know:
Earlier this year the Ordinals Protocol introduced the ability for anyone to inscribe files fully on-chain onto Bitcoin. These inscriptions are self-contained and unaware of the other files that had been… pic.twitter.com/O3jt6lhaxT
With just this, a world of possibilities can be contemplated and reimagined. After all, the ability to use the world's leading blockchain as an immutable, shared, and uncensored data storage is huge.
But the innovations don't stop there!
In October, Lightning Labs announced the first mainnet release of Taproot Assets (TARO), further enhancing the Bitcoin blockchain as a multi-asset network.
Announcing the first mainnet release of Taproot Assets , a protocol for assets on #bitcoin and Lightning.
— Lightning Labs⚡️ (@lightning) October 18, 2023
With this release, developers can issue financial assets on-chain in a scalable manner.
Today marks a new era of multi-asset bitcoin. https://t.co/2cNvZSvv8v
This could not have occurred at a more opportune time, given the enthusiasm ignited by the Ordinals protocol and the way it paved the path for TARO to shine alongside it.
The Ordinals Protocol has broadened the perspective of users and builders, allowing them to construct and view Bitcoin as a network of multiple assets.
Ordinals assets — via flooding the network with transactions — compelled Binance to implement an integration with Lightning. This key factor, combined with low costs, decentralization, and high network settlement speed, makes trading other coins and assets very attractive through Taproot Assets.
And among the various applications of the TARO protocol, one of the most mentioned is the ability to issue stablecoins on the Bitcoin blockchain.
The shift in paradigm is monumental as it paves the way for Bitcoin to transform from being primarily an exchangeable asset to becoming the medium through which exchanges occur.
This innovation is going to empower builders to import successful use cases from other chains and bring them back to the mothership.
Some even joke that all other chains are just Bitcoin's test nets. Does it all lead back to Bitcoin?
THE BITCOIN RENAISSANCE CAN’T BE STOPPED
— Udi Wertheimer (@udiWertheimer) May 16, 2023
the magicians at @lightning labs are back with an efficient protocol for tokens on top of bitcoin
ethereum was a testnet. get in anon we’re going to the moon pic.twitter.com/2g6vPFBAbV
Overall, we could say that we are on the edge of a new Bitcoin era — the era of the multi-asset orange network.
In addition to attracting and retaining more developers who may be interested in these new protocols, these new applications also have the potential to draw in and retain new users who initially didn't find interest or value in Bitcoin as a store of value.
For some, transforming the world can sometimes occur through the simple enjoyment of some fun, encrypted sports cards. But with the optimization of Ordinals, the number of possibilities will continue expanding.
Hal Finney, a prominent cypherpunk — and the first person to receive a transaction from Bitcoin creator Satoshi Nakamoto — wrote in a 1993 post on Compuserve: “Giving a little more thought to the idea of buying and selling digital cash, I thought of a way to present it. We’re buying and selling cryptographic trading cards.”
Finney knew, and now you know too.
This article is for general information purposes and is not intended to be and should not be taken as legal or investment advice. The views, thoughts and opinions expressed here are the author’s alone and do not necessarily reflect or represent the views and opinions of Cointelegraph.
Ordinals are still dominating Bitcoin’s (BTC) blockchain, with the majority of transactions on the network involving them, despite a large price decline. Bitcoin ordinals allow users to inscribe digital assets such as images and videos to a single satoshi, or an individual unit of BTC, to create the equivalent non-fungible tokens (NFTs) on the crypto […]
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Bitcoin Ordinals appear to be alive and kicking with nearly 85% of network activity dominated by inscriptions and BRC-20 minting on Aug. 21.
Ordinal inscriptions have continued to dominate activity on the Bitcoin network over the past week despite the cryptocurrency’s recent price decline and suggestions that the hype around Bitcoin NFTs have “died.”
On Aug. 21, Ordinals developer "Leonidas" pointed out that Bitcoin had 530,788 transactions over the past 24 hours, with 450,785 of those transactions being Ordinals related.
“In the midst of everyone claiming "Ordinals are dead" they have literally accounted for 84.9% of the activity on Bitcoin,” he said.
Over the past 24 hours Bitcoin had 530,788 transactions.
— Leonidas (@LeonidasNFT) August 20, 2023
450,785 of those transactions were Ordinals related.
In the midst of everyone claiming "Ordinals are dead" they have literally accounted for 84.9% of the activity on Bitcoin.
You can't make this stuff up.
Data from Dune Analytics backs up the trend as it reports that there were more than 400,000 ordinal inscriptions on Aug. 20, while Bitinfocharts reports a daily Bitcoin transaction count of around 556,000.
This means that more than three-quarters of the current network activity was Ordinals related on Aug. 20.
85% of on-chain bitcoin transactions in the past 24 hours are ordinals related
— Udi Wertheimer (@udiWertheimer) August 20, 2023
EIGHTY FIVE PERCENT
the main usecase of the bitcoin chain is ORDINALS pic.twitter.com/PCZt4if5jf
Industry researcher Eric Wall added to that, observing that over the week, 54% of the transactions on the Bitcoin network were Ordinals.
According to Dune, the total number of Ordinal inscriptions is 25.5 million which has generated $53.4 million in fees on the Bitcoin network.
Inscriptions are currently dominated by BRC-20 token minting, with 1.9 million of them minted last week.
The recent observations paint a different picture to a DappRadar report on Aug. 17 that claimed that Ordinals NFT usage and sales volume had tanked since its peak in May, prompting some crypto observers to declare the hype as having “died down.”
However, this hype has died down in recent months, which has likely contributed to the decline in #trading volume.
— Cheeky Crypto (@CheekyCrypto) August 20, 2023
What does the future hold for #Bitcoin Ordinals NFTs?
It is unclear what the future holds for Bitcoin Ordinals NFTs.
However, the report tracked the sales and trading volume of NFTs minted on the Bitcoin network, not the actual inscription activity which still appears to be high.
Related: Bitcoin Ordinals rolls out upgrade to rectify 'Cursed Inscriptions' issue
Bitcoin Ordinals are nonfungible asset artifacts that enable inscribing data onto a Satoshi, the smallest division of a Bitcoin.
The protocol was launched in January and the following months saw the inscription hype take off as thousands of them were minted on the Bitcoin network causing congestion and spikes in transaction fees which reached a peak in April and May.
Magazine: Blockchain games aren’t really decentralized… but that’s about to change
Alongside the declining trading volumes, the number of Bitcoin Ordinals transactions dropped by 97% to just 20,571 in mid-August.
DappRadar has pointed to an “alarming plunge” in Bitcoin Ordinals nonfungible token user activity, with trading volumes tanking around a whopping 98% since May.
In an Aug. 17 report, DappRadar highlighted its data showing that the total Bitcoin Ordinals sales volume had decreased from peak levels of $452 million in May to roughly $3 million as of Aug. 14.
In line with that drop, the number of transactions also declined by around 97% to 20,571 within that same time-frame.
DappRadar described it as a grim scenario for the Ordinals market, but did also emphasize that more time is required to determine whether this is a “temporary setback” or something that represents a “systemic problem of Bitcoin-based NFTs.”
“This steep decline in both sales volume and count within such a short period is alarming for Bitcoin Ordinals. The diminishing sales count underscores the waning enthusiasm or perhaps confidence in Bitcoin NFTs,” the report noted, adding that:
“While fluctuations in sales volume could be attributed to market dynamics, a consistent decline in transaction count may point toward broader issues. It suggests that fewer traders are engaging with Bitcoin Ordinals, which could raise concerns about its longevity and relevance in the NFT space.”
Q2 saw a significant decline in the #NFT market, both in terms of trading volume and active wallets.
— DappRadar (@DappRadar) August 17, 2023
One of the biggest victims was #Bitcoin Ordinals, with sales down 97% since May.
Is this the end of Bitcoin NFTs?
DappRadar exploreshttps://t.co/v0ouv9uwVJ
The decline comes after a hype-filled second quarter for Bitcoin Ordinals, which saw trading volumes and user activity skyrocket compared to Q1.
DappRadar went on to suggest that a key issue around the sustainability of Ordinals is that the Bitcoin community has a divided outlook on whether NFTs should be on the network or not — something which isn’t an issue for Ethereum and other blockchains.
Related: Bitcoin Ordinals team launches nonprofit to grow protocol development
“There are voices within the community that view Bitcoin primarily as ‘digital gold,’ suggesting that its primary function should remain as a store of value. On the other hand, Ethereum is often referred to as ‘digital oil’, indicating its role in fueling the digital economy,” the report reads, adding:
“The coming months will be crucial in determining whether Bitcoin finds a foothold in the ever-evolving NFT landscape or reverts to its primary role as a store of value.”
According to CryptoSlam data, the Bitcoin network is currently ranked seventh in terms of NFT sales volume over the past 30 days with $14.6 million generated from 21,989 buyers.
The Ordinals Protocol is generating a circular digital economy where assets are priced, bought and sold via Bitcoin.
In an email dated Jan. 17, 1993, Hal Finney — a developer and early contributor to Bitcoin — shared the concept of “encrypted digital cards,” which are now known as nonfungible tokens (NFTs).
“Giving a little more thought to the idea of buying and selling digital cash, I thought of a way to present it,” Finney wrote at the time. “We’re buying and selling ‘cryptographic trading cards.’”
The most fascinating detail of his email lies in the fact that, by sharing this idea, Finney intended to facilitate the understanding of the concept of digital money. His vision foreshadowed what we saw in 2021 with the NFT boom. Overnight, the crypto space shifted from being solely about financial decentralization to also encompassing the decentralization of art, gaming, entertainment and more.
The narrative that was once theoretical and pushed forcefully became practical and part of the daily culture of millions of people who had never considered buying cryptocurrencies before. And with the introduction of the Ordinals protocol in early 2023, we are witnessing the emergence of such cases.
Related: Bitcoin fragments could become more valuable than full Bitcoins
However, this movement is not being well-received by some “red-eyed guardians.”
In February 2023, the Taproot Wizards achieved a notable feat using the Ordinals protocol. They generated the largest block ever recorded in Bitcoin’s history at that time, reaching nearly 4 megabytes in size.
Their goal was clear: to challenge the existing norms and cultivate an experimental and rebellious mindset within the Bitcoin ecosystem. More than 14 million inscriptions have occurred since the “Wizard Block,” generating something magnificent: a circular digital economy where assets are priced, bought and sold via Bitcoin (BTC). (Inscriptions inscribe sats with content, creating NFTs.)
To illustrate the rapid pace of experiments within this ecosystem, in February, traders were buying and selling Ordinal NFTs using Google Sheets since there were no available marketplaces.
“We are experimenters in an experimental protocol. And my goal is clear: to onboard, educate, entertain and experiment on the Bitcoin blockchain,” a figure in the Ordinal ecosystem who goes by “BitGod” told me in an interview.
Yet, in a matter of mere months, notable corporations and projects entered the scene, providing some framework for this market. As a result, the market has witnessed over 140,000 distinct users and a trading volume surpassing $220 billion.
And among the experiments sparking this interest, one narrative has captured the attention of the general public: rare sats.
Many projects are using this narrative to tokenize their artworks. CTRL, for example, was the first project to inscribe on a “Rare” satoshi.
“I think the image symbolizes the CTRL movement and its inflection point at the time of discovering the Rare sat,” Jameson Mah told me. “The movement is diverse, humble, cypherpunk, fresh blood and energy. CTRL is quite literally replacing the vintage $2 bill that represents the old archaic systems, and the hash of the Rare sat inscription peeking out the back. Then Satoshi Nakamoto’s genesis block message that started it all is illuminated by the light of the power of the Rare sat in the center. It’s non-violent, but it’s also clearly rebellious.”
Related: Bitcoin ETFs: Even worse for crypto than central exchanges
Currently, only eight Rare sats similar to the one used by CTRL in their artwork have been found. And one of them has a bid of $600,000 in an auction. The other one is Gansy, the founder of the Rare Satoshi Society. He disclosed that RSS has already generated over $2.5 million by providing satoshis with specific attributes for more than 100 Ordinals projects. With the objective of preserving their status as the leading supplier of rare sats in the market, his team has already transacted over $3 billion in BTC, searching for the gems that constitute their current portfolio.
There are several other experiments bringing fresh blood to the Bitcoin ecosystem. Prominent Ordinals use cases that deserve exploration include BRC-20, bitmap and recursive inscriptions.
Recognizing Ordinals as a highly complementary movement to the success of Bitcoin is crucial. The ecosystem’s triumph does not hinge on a single solution, but rather a combination of various factors that contribute to its prosperity.
In certain instances, such as in Argentina, the adoption of Bitcoin will be driven by necessity. For others, it will stem from their fascination with the underlying principles of Bitcoin. Institutional adoption through ETFs will contribute a significant portion to the adoption curve. Additionally, the emergence of Ordinals applications will bring a dual benefit to the network, fostering both adoption and the evolution of the ecosystem’s infrastructure.
“My first expectation is that many projects will experiment on Bitcoin,” Mah said, adding, “Next, with this renewed interest, the network will become a lot more expensive to use. Therefore, some of this activity logically should move to layer 2s. Many builders are already experimenting with rollup architecture on top of Bitcoin, for example.”
To conclude, Mah said, “It’s important among the hype to always look for true innovation, substance and creativity — and importantly, Bitcoin-native thinking.”
This article is for general information purposes and is not intended to be and should not be taken as legal or investment advice. The views, thoughts and opinions expressed here are the author’s alone and do not necessarily reflect or represent the views and opinions of Cointelegraph.
