Bankless：深入探讨Ordinals，在比特币中探索NFT创新
Original title: The Bankless Guide to Ordinals
Original author: Bankless
Original compilation: Luccy, BlockBeats
Editors note: With the introduction of the Ordinals protocol, the Bitcoin ecosystem has ushered in a revolutionary change. In this round of the market, it has not been smooth sailing for Ordinals. From its birth to the Bitcoin Core developers threatening to fix the inscription, the tokens have skyrocketed or fallen.
Challenges such as network congestion caused by inscription minting have sparked widespread discussion about the future direction of Bitcoin. Bankless reviewed the design principles and adoption of Ordinals, pointing out the opportunities and risks facing the Bitcoin ecosystem in the face of challenges. He believes that in the future, the development of the Ordinals space and its impact on Bitcoin and the broader crypto economy are worthy of attention. BlockBeats compiles the original text as follows:
The core feature of the Ordinals system is the ability to burn arbitrary data on Satoshi. This is why the word inscription has recently become synonymous with Bitcoin NFT or Ordinals-style NFT.
This inscription process is accomplished by including data in Bitcoin transactions. Specifically, the data is placed in transaction witnesses, which are parts of a Bitcoin transaction that typically contain signatures and other proof of authorization.
The data engraved here can be anything from simple text to images, SVG or even HTML. Once satoshis are inscribed in the data and transactions are mined, the inscription becomes permanent. It is as secure, immutable, and decentralized as other data on the Bitcoin blockchain. This means that once inscribed, a satoshi carries its data forever, always distinguishable from other satoshis.
Furthermore, thanks to the Ordinals theory, we can track the circulation and ownership changes of an imprinted satoshi across different transactions and time periods. This allows us to trade, give away or sell these imprinted satoshis just like any other Bitcoin transaction. However, special care must be taken in transactions to ensure that specific imprinted Satoshi coins are transferred correctly, as Bitcoin transactions generally do not distinguish between individual Satoshi coins.
Ordinals on the chain
For flexibility and practicality, many NFTs on Ethereum store their art and metadata off-chain, for example, on a storage network like IPFS, rather than directly on Ethereum. This is because on-chain storage on Ethereum is expensive, in addition to its narrow data limits.
In contrast, each Ordinals mint is entirely on the Bitcoin chain, thanks to the way the underlying data is stored in transactions, and storage costs are much cheaper than on-chain Ethereum NFTs. While they lack advanced smart contract functionality, they have the best permanence-to-cost ratio in todays NFT space.
BRC-20
The Ordinals approach has fueled the popularity of creating 1/1 NFTs and NFT collections on Bitcoin. However, the top Ordinals themselves also welcomed BRC-20, an experimental and unofficial interchangeable token standard built through Inscription.
BRC-20 is not a smart contract-based token like Ethereum’s ERC-20, and they are not fully fungible. They are created by inscribing snippets of JavaScript Object Representation (JSON) text into Bitcoin NFTs. This JSON contains basic information about the token, such as maximum supply and token identification. For transfers or sales, additional NFTs will be engraved to track balance adjustments in batches, such as 100 tokens, 500 tokens, 1,000 tokens, etc.
BRC-20 tokens have experienced a meteoric rise in popularity in recent months, with $ORDI becoming the first token in the crypto-economy to surpass a $1 billion market capitalization.
Rare sats
Rare Sats triggered by the Ordinals Protocol bring a new cognitive dimension to Satoshi.
Central to understanding Rare Sats is the Rodarmor Rarity Index, named after Ordinals founder Casey Rodarmor. The index classifies Satoshis into different categories based on their uniqueness and scarcity. These categories range from the most common, which accounts for the majority of Bitcoins supply, to the mysterious, which includes the first Satoshi mined in Bitcoins genesis block.
The index also identifies other important categories such as Unusual, Rare, Epic and Legendary Satoshis, each with its own unique characteristics and maximum supply, often associated with key moments in Bitcoin’s timeline Related, such as mining difficulty adjustments and halving events.
In addition to these categories, there are other unique types of Satoshis with historical significance, such as Pizza Sats, Palindrome Sats, Block 9 Sats, and more, each commemorating a special moment or pattern in Bitcoin’s history. For example, Pizza Sats commemorate the first known purchase of a physical commodity in Bitcoin history, while Palindrome Sats feature fascinating digital symmetry.
The growing fascination with Rare Sats has given rise to the practice of “Sat Hunting,” which transforms ordinary Satoshis into highly sought-after collectibles, creating one of the newest market segments within the NFT ecosystem.
Top Ordinals Marketplaces and Wallets
To create and transfer Ordinals and BRC-20, you need a wallet that can recognize and manage Satoshis. Some wallets that have become popular in this regard include:
Xverse - Bitcoin Wallet for Everyone
Leather - Enter the Bitcoin Economy
OKX—Your Web3 Portal
Once youre ready to use your wallet, you can start browsing the popular Ordinals market to see if any NFT listings or BRC-20s catch your eye. Some of the largest markets include OKXs Ordinals Market, Magic Eden, and Gamma.
Ordinals adopt
In 2023, the Bitcoin community began to respond to the surge in Bitcoin NFT minting with the introduction of the Ordinals protocol by Casey Rodarmor, which popularized a method of converting individual satoshis (the smallest denomination of Bitcoin) into non-fungible digital artifacts.
It’s worth noting that the Ordinals protocol has attracted derision among some “older generation” staunch Bitcoin supporters, much in the same way these same people objected to the Bitcoin-based Counterparty NFT being viewed as spam in 2014 . Their argument is that Bitcoin should always be used only for payments.
By contrast, Counterparty veterans and a new generation of creative experimenters believe Ordinals approach has the potential to revolutionize Bitcoins NFT scene. Most importantly, these new NFTs are driving up the transaction fee income of Bitcoin miners, finding an alternative direction for Bitcoins gradually decreasing block rewards in the future.
Zoom in
The introduction of Ordinals not only diversifies Bitcoin’s uses, it also sparks debate about Bitcoin’s fundamental nature. While some traditionalists argue for retaining Bitcoin’s original purpose as a payment system, a growing number see these developments as a natural evolution of the network’s capabilities, providing new avenues for creativity and financial opportunity.
By enabling the storage of diverse data types on-chain at relatively low cost, the Ordinals Protocol has proven to be a legitimate disruptor in the NFT space. It challenges preconceptions of what is possible on the Bitcoin blockchain, extending its utility beyond simple monetary transactions.
However, this innovation is not without challenges. The proliferation of Bitcoin NFTs, especially the popularity of BRC-20 tokens and the practice of “Sat Hunting”, has led to increased network congestion. This phenomenon raises concerns about Bitcoin L1’s scalability and efficiency as it enters new areas of digital asset creation and management.
Going forward, ongoing discussions around network congestion, transaction fees, and the role of NFTs in the Bitcoin ecosystem are likely to shape the future direction of the network. Therefore, the development of the Ordinals space and its impact on Bitcoin and the broader crypto economy are worthy of attention.
