The Bitcoin Network has recorded over 154,554 inscriptions since the launch of Bitcoin Ordinals on Jan. 21, a protocol that enables digital assets to be inscribed on satoshis (sats), which is the lowest denomination of a Bitcoin.
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Fast facts
- Ordinal Inscriptions are similar to non-fungible tokens (NFTs) on Bitcoin, as they allow users to mint images, videos, and even video games on satoshis, which benefit from the inherent immutability of the network.
- The upgrade was developed in the past year by software engineer Caser Rodarmor and relies on Bitcoin’s SegWit and Taproot upgrades to function.
- As interest in NFTs on proof-of-work blockchains strengthens, software engineer Anthony Guerrera launched Ordinals on the Litecoin network on Feb.19, motivated by the 22 Litecoin (US$2,066) bounty posted by pseudonymous Twitter user Indigo Nakamotoist.
- Guerrera told Decrypt that Litecoin was the only other blockchain that could support Ordinals because it also included Bitcoin’s SegWit and Taproot upgrades.
- Bitcoin was down 0.56% in the 24 hours to 7:45 p.m. Hong Kong time, trading at US$24,686. Litecoin was down 3.76% trading at US$93.86, according to CoinMarketCap.
See related article: New Bitcoin protocol may shake up the NFT market
(Updates lede to clarify the definition of Ordinals.)