‘Ethscriptions’ Reach 30,000 Mints on Ethereum Blockchain

Move over Ordinals, a new craze has reached the crypto community. ‘Ethscriptions,’ or Ordinals on the Ethereum blockchain, have reached 30,000, playing on the growing interest in non-fungible tokens that are decentralized and inscribed with images directly on chain.

Tom Lehman, the co-founder of Capsule21 and contributor to Genius.com, created the concept, dubbing it as a “new way of creating and sharing digital artifacts on Ethereum using transaction calldata.” Transaction calldata is the information passed along in a transaction that allows users to send messages to other entities or interact with smart contracts.

According to Lehman, using calldata to inscribe non-fungible tokens is a more decentralized and secure than using contract storage. So far, users can inscribe any file under 96 kilobytes of size. The file must be an image, though that may change in the future. Duplicate content is disregarded, and Ethscriptions support any mime types.

Of the many Ethscriptions users have created, the one making the most waves is a riff of the 10,000 CryptoPunks collection. Called Ethereum Punks, the 10,000 NFT collection contains the same images as the original Punks but with all the benefits that Ethscriptions provide. However, there have been some hiccups.

All of the Ethscriptions minted so far fall into one collection on OpenSea in a jumbled mix that sees NFTs from standalone collections resting side-by-side. The floor price of all Ethscriptions is 0.0169 ETH or $29, though there has been over $366,000 traded within the collection.

Whether the new technological advancement will have steady power remains to be seen. But it is certainly an interesting innovation in the middle of the bear market.

Ordinals Pop Off in 2023

Ethscriptions are attempting to bring Ordinals to the Ethereum blockchain, a move that may capitalize on some of the attention Ordinals have generated over the past few months. As Rarity Sniper has covered in detail, Ordinals have been a bright spot in a tough crypto bear market, leading to a resurgence in the NFT space and adding meme coins to the Bitcoin blockchain. Here are our three top stories.

First, about a month ago, top cryptocurrency exchange Binance announced it would add Ordinals support for its NFT marketplace. The move coincided with the rise of Bitcoin Ordinals, with over 5 million inscribed at the time of that article. According to a press release at the time, Binance would allow users to trade directly from their marketplace wallets, eliminating the need for Taproot-compatible wallets.

Next, also about a month ago, Ordinals inscriptions and trading reached a fever pitch, with the number of Ordinals inscribed going parabolic. The debut of the BRC-20 protocol, which allows for the creation of meme coins on the Bitcoin blockchain, created the frenzy, with over 14,000 meme coins launched quickly. The trading activity was so great, it clogged the Bitcoin network and skyrocketed miner fees.

Lastly, two months ago, Magic Eden debuted its Bitcoin Ordinals launchpad, giving Ordinals creators a “safe and secure” platform to inscribe their NFTs. Zhuoxun Yin, the co-founder of Magic Eden, said at the time that Bitcoin was the grandfather of all blockchains and that it would be a true home for digital artifacts forever.

Will Ethscriptions have the same hype as Ordinals? While the tech is certainly interesting, only time will answer that question. Rarity Sniper will be here to report back if they do.