Bitcoin is the most popular cryptocurrency in the world with millions of holders trusting its deflationary value and unique value proposition. Bitcoin with its hundreds of billions of market capitalization has always acted as the backbone of the entire blockchain industry and after years of stagnant infrastructure as a mere store of value, the Bitcoin community is coming up with the greater utilization of its blockchain and creating more use cases for the OG chain.
Bitcoin Ordinals is one such major update that the Bitcoin community has come up with and has significantly affected the way miners and users interact with the native blockchain. In this article, we are going to learn more about Bitcoin Ordinals and understand what makes them special for Bitcoin.
Bitcoin Ordinals are a new way to store data on the Bitcoin Blockchain. They were first introduced in January 2023 by Casey Rodarmor, and they have quickly become one of the most popular and talked-about topics in the Bitcoin community.
At a basic level, Bitcoin Ordinals are the pieces of data that are inscribed onto the Bitcoin blockchain. This data can be anything from text and images to music and videos. Once a piece of data has been inscribed, it becomes permanently embedded in the Bitcoin blockchain, and it cannot be altered or removed.
Bitcoin Ordinals are made possible by a new protocol called Ordinal Theory. Ordinal Theory by Casey Rodarmor uses a unique method to assign a unique identifier to each satoshi (the smallest unit of Bitcoin) on the blockchain. This allows for the creation of digital artifacts that are truly unique and scarce.
While explaining the functioning of Bitcoin Ordinals, Naqib Noor, Co-Founder and Development Lead, Ordazaar, in a recent interaction with Sudeep Saxena, Co-Founder of CoinGabbar said, “The difference between an NFT and a Bitcoin ordinal is that in NFT, your meta metadata goes to a smart contract and when someone chooses to buy an NFT they are actually buying a link which gives them the information required to generate that unique jpeg.”
“In Ordinals it is different, in which an image or any other media is inscribed into a Satoshi which later is mined on the Bitcoin blockchain and users can own those particular Satoshis in which their media is inscribed,” Noord added.
Bitcoin Ordinals are designed to upgrade the operational capacity of the Bitcoin blockchain, making it more than just a ‘store of value’ and giving it a wider purpose for mass adoption. Ordinals have the potential to revolutionize Bitcoin in a number of ways. Here are just a few examples:
Digital ownership on Bitcoin blockchain
They could open up new possibilities for digital ownership. Bitcoin Ordinals can be used to create digital artifacts that are truly unique and scarce. This could lead to new and innovative ways to own and trade digital assets, such as art, music, and collectibles.
While talking about one such application that enables the users to mine their art on the Bitcoin Blockchain, Noor said, “Ordazaar is a permissionless, trustless, unique marketplace to which artists can come up with and get started with minting their artwork on the Bitcoin blockchain without any hassle.”
New way to trade digital assets
Bitcoin Ordinals could be used to create new and innovative ways to own and trade digital assets. For example, Ordinals could be used to create digital collectables that are truly unique and scarce. This could lead to a new market for digital collectibles that is based on Bitcoin, rather than other blockchains like Ethereum.
Enable the development of decentralized applications
Bitcoin Ordinals could be used to create new types of decentralized applications (dApps). For example, Ordinals could be used to create a decentralized social media platform or a decentralized gaming platform. This could help to make Bitcoin more attractive to a wider range of users, including gamers, artists, and developers.
Enabling New Financial Products on Bitcoin Blockchain
Bitcoin Ordinals could be used to create new financial products and services. For example, Ordinals could be used to create decentralized lending and borrowing protocols or decentralized derivatives markets. This could help to make Bitcoin more attractive to investors and traders.
Making Bitcoin More Accessible
They could help to make Bitcoin more accessible to a wider range of users. Bitcoin Ordinals can be used to create a variety of new applications and services on the Bitcoin blockchain. This could make Bitcoin more attractive to a wider range of users, including gamers, artists, and developers.
Making Bitcoin More Secure
They could also help to make the Bitcoin network more secure. Bitcoin Ordinals require miners to process more data, which could help to increase the security of the Bitcoin network.
Bitcoin Ordinals are still a new technology, and it is still too early to say for sure what impact they will have on Bitcoin in the long term. However, they have the potential to revolutionize Bitcoin in a number of ways.
Naqib Noor also cited the significance of Bitcoin Ordinals for miners. Noor said, “Miners have to be paid enough for the Bitcoin to sustain. Ordinals are pushing the mining fees up which is creating a welcoming ecosystem for new miners to enter the space. Bitcoin Ordinals can be equated to the ‘fair wage’ for Bitcoin miners, enabling them to sustain their operations.”
“What I think is that if any blockchain infrastructure is needed to survive, it will have to have a strong use case Ordinals offers the same for Bitcoin’s blockchain,” Sudeep Saxena, Co-Founder, Coin Gabbar added.
One of the most exciting possibilities is that Bitcoin Ordinals could help to make Bitcoin more accessible to a wider range of users. Bitcoin is often seen as a complex and technical asset, but Ordinals could make it possible to create a variety of new applications and services on the Bitcoin blockchain that are more user-friendly and accessible to a wider range of people.
While Bitcoin Ordinals have the potential to revolutionize Bitcoin, there are also some challenges and concerns that need to be addressed. One concern is that Ordinals could lead to increased spam and congestion on the Bitcoin network. This is because Ordinals require miners to process more data, which could lead to higher transaction fees and slower transaction times.
Another concern is that Ordinals could be used to create illegal or harmful content. For example, Ordinals could be used to create and distribute child pornography or hate speech making it immutable on the blockchain. It is important to develop safeguards to prevent Ordinals from being used for illegal or harmful purposes.
Overall, Bitcoin Ordinals are a new and exciting technology with the potential to change Bitcoin in a number of ways. However, there are also some challenges and concerns that need to be addressed. It is important to weigh the potential benefits and risks of Ordinals carefully before deciding whether to support them.
