Ordinals to Launch NFTs on Bitcoin Network

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When it comes to non-fungible tokens (NFTs), most people think of networks like Ethereum, Solana, and Polygon — blockchains that have a strong hold on the NFT market.

But NFTs on the Bitcoin blockchain, while uncommon, have been around since 2014. And despite their lack of popularity, some projects have made it their mission to bring NFTs to the first and most popular cryptocurrency in the world.

Ordinals, a protocol that enables the transferring of satoshis (Bitcoins’ smallest unit of measurement) on the Bitcoin network, is one of those projects. Casey Rodarmor, the project’s creator, designed Ordinals protocol to number satoshis, giving them a unique serial number that makes them trackable across transactions.

The reason this is important is because Ordinals‘ protocol lets users transfer, receive, or explore individual Satoshi’s — which could include inscribing data like videos or images. In other words, NFTs. This process of adding NFTs to satoshis is called inscription, and each inscription can be stored on a Bitcoin’s transaction signature.

Rodarmor said that from the beginning, he’s aimed to create something that would “strike people as being Bitcoin native.”

Of course, not everyone in the crypto space is happy about the move. Some believe it’s a waste of space and energy. But Rodarmar argues that the inscriptions have no resource requirements and would have no effect on transaction costs.

NFTs Are Recovering from the Bear Market

Not everyone agrees if non-fungible tokens are useful on the Bitcoin blockchain, but the news of Ordinals goal certainly brings more attention to NFTs. At Rarity Sniper, we’ve covered several articles about major companies investing in digital assets this year. Here are some of the top NFT stories from 2023.

First, last week, news surfaced that Amazon could be making its first move in Web3 as early as April. According to Blockworks, the retail giant plans to launch an NFT initiative. Some speculate Amazon could launch an NFT marketplace that would compete with secondary marketplaces like OpenSea.

Next, yesterday, Little Red Book, a social media giant platform in China similar to Instagram, announced it would integrate Conflux blockchain into its network of over 200 million monthly users. The integration lets users display Conflux-minted NFTs on their profile page.

Lastly, also yesterday, leading global security, blockchain, AI, and loT company WISEKey announced the launch of eTreeNFT.com. The marketplace will link real-life trees to NFTs and help create sustainable asset-based markets for sequestering carbon dioxide.

After a tough 2022, NFTs are rising in popularity once again. Whether people will embrace NFTs on the Bitcoin network is yet to be seen. But we’ll keep our ears to the ground for any new developments with Ordinals and their Bitcoin NFTs.