CITEX Viewpoint丨Controversial Ordinals, is it a spoiler or a reshaper?
Recently, the explosion of Ordinals NFT has once again pushed the Bitcoin ecosystem into the spotlight. The number of Ordinals inscription transactions has surged, and the number of new Ordinals inscriptions has repeatedly hit a record high. As of May 2, the total number of Ordinals inscriptions has exceeded 3 million. Affected by the surge in Ordinals transactions, the transaction volume on the Bitcoin chain has also been rising. In the 15 years since its inception, Bitcoin has rarely been used for anything other than peer-to-peer transfers and value storage. But with the emergence of the Ordinals protocol, this ancient public chain finally began to glow with new vitality.
However, Ordinals has been controversial since its inception: Many opponents believe that Ordinals will compete with traditional payment transactions by crowding out blocks and driving up transaction fees, harming the payment function of Bitcoin. For example, inscribing files, pictures or audio onto Bitcoin may increase the storage and processing burden of the Bitcoin network, which may affect Bitcoin’s transaction confirmation speed and network security. Many people believe that adding NFT elements to the blockchain goes against Satoshi Nakamoto’s intention to create BTC.
It is precisely because of this that the Bitcoin community has been exploring and developing layer2 solutions, trying to reduce the storage and processing burden of the Bitcoin main chain and improve the transaction throughput and processing capabilities of Bitcoin while ensuring the security of the Bitcoin network. Therefore, many people believe that the release of the Ordinals protocol may promote the construction and development of Bitcoin layer2, which will help solve the scalability and security issues of the Bitcoin network, and allow Bitcoin to gain wider recognition and application.
In fact, what the crypto market lacks the most is not money, but a new story that can attract funds. The Ordinals market is still in its early stages, and the immature market and technology make it impossible to determine whether it will bring about major changes in the industry. We cannot say overwhelmingly that the Ordinals market is a disruptor or a reshaper. But there are no new hotspots in the market at present, and the emergence of Ordinals has filled the BTC ecosystem and established a new application scenario. Among them, both Inscription and BRC-20 are in a completely incremental market. We will wait and see whether the sporadic waves can become monstrous waves and sweep the entire sea area.
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