Bitcoin NFT Returns to Spotlight as Ordinals Cross 3.5M Inscription

Bitcoin Ordinals, an innovative method for generating non-fungible tokens (NFTs) on the Bitcoin blockchain through a process called inscriptions, debuted in January. Recently, activity within Bitcoin Ordinals has seen a significant increase following the launch of the BRC-69 token standard.

According to data from blockchain analytics firm Glassnode, the number of new inscriptions reached over 3.5 million on Monday, nearly matching the record high of 4 million inscriptions set in early May. This jump represents a tremendous increase of over 250% since the BRC-69 token standard was introduced by Ordinals Luminex launchpad on July 3rd. The modified BRC-20 standard aims to reduce inscription costs for Ordinal by more than 90%.

Luminex explained the benefits of BRC-69 in a Twitter thread, stating, “With BRC69, we were able to reduce inscription costs for Ordinal collections by more than 90% through a 4-step process: inscribing traits, deploying collections, compiling collections, and printing assets.” Luminex further highlighted the BRC-69’s simplicity, as creators only needed to write a single line of text instead of a full image. This text-based approach allows the final image to be rendered automatically on all ordinal frontends using only on-chain resources, thanks to recursive inscriptions.

Despite the spike in new inscriptions, data from Dune Analytics reveals that the daily fees paid for inscriptions have remained stagnant. Bitcoin Ordinals went live in January, bringing NFTs and smart contract narratives to the Bitcoin blockchain and fueling investor interest in tokens like STX, the native token of the Bitcoin layer 2 Stacks Network.

Glassnode categorizes the Ordinals boom into two waves. The first wave, which lasted from early February to late April, was driven by image-based inscriptions. The second wave, starting in May, saw a spike in text-based inscriptions at a higher cost.

Glassnode’s weekly report shows that although the second wave had a much higher number of inscriptions, overall activity has decreased since May. Despite the recent increase in text inscriptions, unconfirmed transactions across the Bitcoin mempool are starting to be deleted, indicating a stabilization in activity.

The combination of Bitcoin Ordinals and the BRC-69 token standard has opened up new possibilities for the creation of NFTs on the Bitcoin blockchain, highlighting ongoing innovation and growing interest in this space.