The launch of the Ordinals project in January created a buzz in the Bitcoin user community. There is an ongoing debate over whether a number of JPEGs deserve to be put on the blockchain and immortalized. However, Dune data shows that the number of NFTs created by the Cardinals has surpassed 11,000 in the meantime.
According to Valx and quoted by Decrypt, the Ordinals project is not the first project that wants to introduce NFTs to the Bitcoin network. The Couterparty project first brought the concept of non-fungible tokens to Bitcoin with the Rare Pepes collection in 2014. This trend was followed by the Stacks project in 2017. However, the Ordinals project is different because assets – including photos or even video games – are listed directly on satoshis (Bitcoin’s smallest unit), with no need for a sidechain or even an additional token.
These days, the Ordinals project has caused many questions and discussions about the ultimate goal of the Bitcoin network. For some, Ordinals have opened up a new circle of threats to the Bitcoin network. Threats that include malware attacks or exorbitant transaction fees.
Dan Held, a long-time bitcoiner, tweeted his support for the project and acknowledged that Ordinals are good for Bitcoin. He attached a screenshot of the late Hal Feeney’s email to his tweet. In that email, Finney referred to “digital currency trading cards,” which are very close in concept to NFT tokens. Finney, who died in 2014, is believed by many to be Satoshi Nakamoto, the pseudonymous creator of the Bitcoin network.
Unlike Ethereum and Solana, the Ordinals project does not use the name NFT for its works, but calls them “Digital Artifacts”. Others use the name “inscription” to name this type of property. These inscriptions are made possible thanks to the update of the taproot of the Bitcoin network in November 2021. Following this update, it is possible to save desired data as the “witness” field of the transfer.
Interest in Ordinals has been steadily increasing since its developer – Casey Rudarmore – launched it on January 21, 2023. Some are seeking to challenge the limitation of imprinting information on satoshis.
While the excitement of coining NFTs on the Bitcoin network has attracted fans, Ordinal Inscriptions lack some features associated with NFTs such as smart contracts, which the Bitcoin network does not natively support.
Some other experts believe that by drawing people’s attention to this project, the way will be opened for Bitcoin layer two projects such as Stacks.
Ordinals “digital artefacts” will continue to work, whether the Bitcoin maxies like it or not. Now we have to wait and watch its long-term impact on the Bitcoin network.
The number of NFT tokens in the Bitcoin network has exceeded 11,000. It was first published on Wallex blog. appeared.
