Ordinal inscriptions are booming, with users flooding the Bitcoin network with content such as images and video games. There are now over 5 million inscriptions, with the number doubling from 2.5 million in just seven days.
Ordinals Soaring
Text-based inscriptions dominate the Bitcoin ordinal inscription, accounting for 86.52% of all inscriptions, while image-based inscriptions have a smaller share of 9.5%. At present, the total market cap of BRC-20 tokens is around $690 million, hosting a total of 14,200 new tokens on the Bitcoin blockchain. Even a Bitcoin version of the PEPE meme coin made it to the third position in terms of market cap, while Bitcoin-based tokens called «ordi» and «nals» held the top two positions.
Ordinal inscriptions are digital assets, akin to NFTs, which are inscribed on a satoshi in the Bitcoin network, made possible thanks to the Taproot activation in 2021, offering another use case for the network besides transfers of value.
Binance has revealed plans to add support for Bitcoin Ordinals on its NFT marketplace, offering royalty support and revenue-generating opportunities for creators.
Positive Outcome?
The ordinals craze has led to heightened activity in the Bitcoin network, including higher transaction volumes. However, this increased demand has raised concerns about network congestion, raising transaction fees to roughly $31, the highest level since April 2021. This surge in transaction fees and longer confirmation wait times has presented difficulties for small transactions. Yet, the burst of new activity is being viewed as a positive outcome for Bitcoin miners, with transaction fees surpassing the regular mining subsidy.
