Bitcoin NFT 'in progress' : Ordinals protocol, FOMO and debate

On January 21, the Ordinals protocol created by core bitcoin contributor Casey Rodarmor released version 0.4.0, officially bringing NFT into the main bitcoin network. To date, about 9000 NFT have been minted on the main Bitcoin network through the Ordinals protocol.

The 9,000th NFT to be Minted on the main Bitcoin network through the Ordinals protocol

The Ordinals protocol has a numbering scheme that supports the tracking and transmission of a single Bitcoin's smallest unit, Satoshi, numbering different Satoshi in the order in which they were mined and moving them from transaction input to transaction output on a first-in, first-out basis.

Each Satoshi has a unique number that serves as an ID and can be tracked or traded individually. On this basis, data (such as images, text, SVG, HTML, etc.) is written into each Satoshi, completing the transformation of Satoshi from a "bitcoin minimum unit" to a "bitcoin NFT".

These Bitcoin NFTS do not support references to off-chain data. In other words, all the data contained in the Bitcoin NFT is stored entirely on the chain and cannot be lost or changed due to problems with centralized, off-chain storage.

Unlike Ethereum, where the mature, centralised NFT market is common, on the main Bitcoin network everything seems primitive and "untapped" -- there is no NFT market, it's all OTC. There is no Mint page, and the distribution model is mostly "send money to the creators; the creators chain the NFT; hand out the NFT to the buyers". Ordinals didn't even have a lightweight wallet app yet. To link NFT or reliably transfer NFT to another address, you had to install the Bitcoin core wallet and use Ordinals' full capabilities from the command line.

To summarize the main points of the Bitcoin Mainnet NFT craze started by Ordinals:

- If you just buy and save NFT, you only need a bitcoin wallet (P2TR address type recommended)

- If you want to resend/sell your own NFT as a creator after receiving it, you need to install the Bitcoin core wallet and interact with Oridinals from the command line (Official course)

- If you want to check your own NFT, you need to number it according to the NFT (Satoshi) inOrdinals ExplorerSearch on monitor.

Despite its unfriendly use, FOMO seems to be barely affected:

@dotta, CEO of Forgotten Runes Wizard's Cult, a well-known NFT project, bought a stone for 0.2 BTC. Currently, within the Discord of this project, the offer for purchase has been offered at a price of more than 1 BTC

Ordinal Punk sold 100 units at 0.01 BTC and the latest transaction price has reached 1.9269 BTC

Controversy has accompanied FOMO, especially the huge controversy over the "Taproot Wizard" NFT project. Taproot Wizard filled almost the entire block with a 3.94MB image, allowing the Bitcoin network to mine the largest block in history.

The Bitcoin network has mined the largest block in history. The SegWit upgrade in 2017 and the Taproot upgrade in 2021 increased the maximum size of a single block to 4MB, paving the way for today's Ordinals

History-making "Taproot Wizard #0001 'Bald Wizard'"

Luke Dashjr, another core Bitcoin developer, called the transaction "spam" and quickly developed a "spam filter" for miners to sift through and filter broadcasts containing Bitcoin NFT created by the Ordinals protocol. The move adds another point of contention to the debate over whether to support non-financial applications of bitcoin -- whether NFT is "spam" or not -- and to the argument that Bitcoin advocates censorship. But it was the constant debate among the "smart minds" that allowed the Bitcoin community, and Bitcoin itself, to flourish until today.

The Ordinals deal is still in its early days and the "infrastructure" such as a lightweight wallet application and NFT marketplace has yet to be built. After these "infrastructure" landing, the bitcoin main network NFT market will likely usher in a wave of growth, so it is worth continuing attention. In addition, it's worth wondering what the long-term impact of the Ordinals protocol on the Bitcoin network will be -- whether the incentives for miners will be better for non-financial applications or worse for more expensive financial applications.

Regardless, the Ordinals protocol will continue to exist and grow on the main Bitcoin network. Is Bitcoin NFT the next big thing in the NFT market? Let's wait and see.

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