Bitcoin Ordinals: The Newest NFT Craze You've Never Heard Of. Yet.

Are you a Bitcoin enthusiast who's tired of hearing the same old story about the limited utility of the world's oldest blockchain network? Well, it's time to spice things up with some groundbreaking innovations! First came Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC), Stacks (STX), and Rootstock (RBTC), and now we have the game-changing Ordinals Protocol!

This revolutionary protocol has breathed new life into Bitcoin by allowing developers and artists to create and store digital artifacts directly on the blockchain. With over 100,000 Ordinals already minted, it's safe to say that the response has been overwhelmingly positive.

So what exactly are Bitcoin Ordinals, and why are they causing such a stir? How do they compare to traditional NFTs? Get ready to have your mind blown as we explore this exciting new technology that's changing the game for Bitcoin enthusiasts and investors alike!

What are Bitcoin Ordinals?

In the world of Bitcoin, the smallest unit of currency is called a satoshi, or a "sat" for short. One Bitcoin is equal to 100,000,000 sats. With the launch of the Ordinals Protocol, users now have the ability to attach optional data to their sats when sending or receiving them, including text, JPEGs, audio, or videos. This process is called "inscription," and the resulting product is known as a Bitcoin “NFT” or an Ordinal.

Since the Ordinals Protocol was introduced on January 21, almost 100,000 inscribed sats have been created, including collections such as Ordinal Punks and Ordinal Penguins. These are offshoots of popular NFT collections that are now available on the Bitcoin blockchain.

It's worth noting that the ability to create Ordinals is made possible by the "witness section" of Bitcoin transactions, which was introduced with the Taproot soft fork in 2021. This is where the extra data, such as JPEGs, audio files, or videos, are added to individual sats. Additionally, the 2017 Segwit update, which increased block sizes from 1MB to 4MB, helped enable the creation of these digital artifacts.

Are Ordinals NFTs?

Ordinals are often described as the digital equivalent of NFTs, but with a few key differences that set them apart. One of the main differences between Ordinals and traditional NFTs is how they're stored. With NFTs, the assets are often hosted elsewhere and are represented by smart contracts. However, Ordinals are inscribed into the satoshi and are stored on-chain. This means they're validated in blocks and stored in the network's distributed ledger – it's like they have a permanent home on the blockchain.

Another unique feature of Ordinals is that they're completely immutable, which means that their data cannot be changed once they're created. Unlike NFTs, which may allow creators to update the appearance and characteristics of an asset, Ordinals are complete digital artefacts that cannot be tampered with. So if you're looking for a digital asset that's truly one-of-a-kind and completely secure, Ordinals might be the way to go.

However, there is one drawback to Ordinals when compared to traditional NFTs. While NFT creators can receive royalties on subsequent sales of their assets, Ordinals do not provide this option. But for those who value the immutability and security of the blockchain, the lack of royalties may not be a deal-breaker.

Overall, the creator of the Ordinals Protocol, Casey Rodarmor, believes that these digital artefacts represent what NFTs should be - completely secure, immutable, and stored on-chain. So if you're interested in exploring the world of Bitcoin and NFTs, why not give Ordinals a try?

Ordinals break record but also receive criticism

Ordinals have taken the world of Bitcoin by storm since they were introduced, bringing in thousands of new users to the blockchain. The impact of this can be seen in the record-breaking number of non-zero Bitcoin addresses that were active on February 14 – a staggering 44 million! It's clear that the ability to add extra data to satoshis has captured the attention of many people.

One of the exciting things about Ordinals is that they've also led to an increase in the size of Bitcoin blocks. Just in the past few weeks, Bitcoin registered its largest-ever block, weighing in at a whopping 2.52MB. That's a significant increase from the average block size before Ordinals were introduced, which was only around 0.7 MB to 1.5 MB. It's amazing to see how much the Bitcoin network has grown and changed thanks to these digital artefacts.

But it's not just the size of the blocks that's changing – the introduction of Ordinals has also brought new revenue streams for miners. Previously, miners only received network fees for monetary transactions. However, with Ordinals, the network is now being used for non-monetary purposes for the first time ever. This means that miners are collecting more transaction fees and generating additional income – almost $600,000 in the last two months alone, according to Glassnode data. This is an exciting development for the future of Bitcoin, as it shows that the blockchain can be used for a wide range of purposes beyond just financial transactions.

Of course, not everyone is on board with the rise of Ordinals. Some people feel that they're a frivolous use of block space and have led to an increase in transaction fees. There are also concerns about the environmental impact of the increased energy usage that comes with mining and validating these transactions. However, the potential benefits of Ordinals for both users and miners are hard to ignore, and it will be interesting to see how the conversation around these digital artefacts develops in the coming months and years.

At Cake DeFi, we're committed to staying ahead of the curve when it comes to the latest innovations in the industry. We're constantly monitoring the space, so that we can be among the first to offer curated products that our customers will love and benefit from. With that being said, we encourage you to stay tuned for what we have in store for this year! Don't miss out on the exciting new products and features we're planning to launch. Be sure to keep an eye on our updates and announcements. Join us on this journey of innovation and growth at Cake DeFi!