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If you've found yourself scratching your head and wondering about Bitcoin Ordinals lately, you're in good company. Even Bitcoin purists, who have held fervently (and impressively) onto the philosophy of decentralization, can find fresh new possibilities in the Ordinals protocol, which was released in January 2023 by Bitcoin developer Casey Roadmar.
Since that fated January reveal, nobody could have predicted that Bitcoin would become the second-largest blockchain for non-fungible tokens (NFTs), with sales volume passing even that of Solana and Polygon, two of the most popular NFT ecosystems. According to nftnow, even Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin himself applauded Ordinals as an “organic return of builder culture” to Bitcoin. Popular Ordinals projects include Taproot Wizards, On Chain Monkey, Yuga Labs’ Twelve Fold, Ordinal Maxi Biz and others.
But, um, what exactly are Ordinals? This week, BFF spoke to someone who had a front-row seat to Roadmar’s success — and even helped steer the ship once Ordinals exploded in popularity. Isabel Foxen Duke, an independent communications consultant who is personal friends with Roadmar, joined us for a Twitter Space, along with CoinQueens founder Heather Rae Doyle, to talk all things Ordinals.
At their core, Bitcoin Ordinals are numbered satoshis that can be tracked as they traverse the Bitcoin network. Imagine a jar of pennies that can be customized with artwork, then digitally tracked as a collectible into perpetuity. That’s kind of what Ordinals are. They are satoshis — aka the smallest unit of bitcoin — that can be inscribed with metadata such as JPEGs, and assigned a unique number that suddenly turns them from fungible (just like any ol’ Ordinal) to non-fungible. But importantly, as Duke pointed out, there is only a finite number of satoshis, whereas the U.S. government will continue to mint pennies.
The implications of Ordinals are far-reaching. The field of Ordinal theory is rapidly evolving, giving rise to various technologies built around numbering satoshis on the blockchain. One crucial aspect of Ordinals is their immutability. Once data is inscribed, it cannot be altered. However, through programming, it is possible to define future changes in the data at specific times. This adherence to the rules of immutability sets Bitcoin apart from Ethereum, making it an appealing feature for many.
Moreover, Ordinals open new avenues for artists to explore the world of digital art on the Bitcoin blockchain. Before Ordinals, we never really considered this to be a possibility. By leveraging recursion, artists can create more sophisticated and captivating pieces without being restricted by file size limitations. As recursion gains traction, we can expect renowned digital artists to embrace the possibilities it offers.
Looking ahead, the notion of spending a satoshi with a personalized touch, such as a coin featuring an image of a stylish queen, evokes a sense of excitement and possibilities. As the Bitcoin community continues to grow, these unique experiences will undoubtedly become more common.
That's all for this edition. Until next time, BFFs! And in the meantime, listen to the full conversation on Bitcoin Ordinals (linked below).
Listen To The Bitcoin Ordinals Twitter Space
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Megan DeMatteo is BFF's Editorial Partner.
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