Ordinals market, in collaboration with the Bitcoin Miladys NFT collection, has introduced the BRC-721E token standard, aiming to facilitate the transfer of ERC-721 nonfungible tokens (NFTs) to the Bitcoin blockchain. This development is part of the Bitcoin Ordinals initiative, a layer-2 solution for decentralized storage of digital art on the Bitcoin blockchain.
With the launch of the BRC-721E standard, users can now migrate their ERC-721 NFTs to Ordinals, enabling them to take advantage of the benefits offered by the Bitcoin blockchain. Initially, the metadata associated with the NFTs is not stored on-chain. However, users have the option to store a lower-quality preview image and include a reference to the Ethereum burn in the raw image data.
The migration process involves burning the ERC-721 NFT through an Ethereum call function, which irreversibly inscribes the NFT's details on-chain. To claim the ETH burn on the Bitcoin blockchain, users need to inscribe valid BRC-721E data. Once completed, the bridged NFT will appear on a custom Ordinals market collection page, complete with metadata.
Indexers play a crucial role in verifying the burned NFT data inscriptions. They ensure that a token has only one valid inscription and verify that the Genesis address matches the burn transaction call data. This validation process ensures the integrity and authenticity of the migrated NFTs.
The Ordinals market emphasizes that the fundamental principles of the BRC-721E standard, coupled with the flexibility of the indexers, allow for the protocol to evolve over time. Although metadata is initially not stored on-chain, this approach provides room for future enhancements and modifications.
The launch of Bitcoin Ordinals and the subsequent introduction of the BRC-20 standard in March has elicited mixed reactions from the crypto community. BRC-20 is an experimental fungible token standard designed specifically for the Bitcoin blockchain. The combination of BRC-20 with Ordinals has paved the way for minting new tokens on the Bitcoin blockchain. As a result, the number of BRC-20 tokens has surged from a few hundred in the initial week to over 25,000 currently.
However, this rise in token minting on the Bitcoin blockchain has faced criticism from some Bitcoin proponents. They argue that the increased tokenization is inefficient and wasteful. Despite these concerns, the Ordinals market and the BRC-721E and BRC-20 token standards continue to attract attention and participation within the crypto community, creating new possibilities for digital asset transfer and storage.
