Bitcoin Ordinals and BRC-20 Token: A New Wave of Blockchain Inscriptions Taking Over

Bitcoin Ordinals, a new way of inscribing media on the blockchain, has been gaining traction in the crypto industry, despite initial concerns that it would fade away like NFTs. Instead, the buzz around the protocol is only increasing, especially now that a Bitcoin enthusiast has found a way to inscribe media as fungible tokens using the protocol.

BRC-20 Token

The surge in inscriptions on the Ordinals protocol, which peaked at over 31,500 at press time, is largely due to the BRC-20. This new development allows users to mint and transfer tokens on the BTC blockchain. While the Ordinals protocol is evolving, it is already making waves in the crypto industry.

Bitcoin maximalists have been critical of the Ordinals protocol, but the wider BTC blockchain community is enjoying the new possibilities it offers. The token is similar to the ERC-20 standard on ETH but is not yet as advanced or widely adopted.

A Twitter user and data enthusiast, @domodata, recently introduced the BRC-20 implementation to the crypto industry. BRC-20 stands for Bitcoin Request for Comment, which was part of a wider contribution by other data enthusiasts on the web.

According to an interview with Decrypt, Domo stated that he had heard of the token a few days before on Twitter but was very curious to try and implement the same formats he saw to create the token.

Domo was trying to create an off-chain state using Dune Analytics and inscriptions, which add data to the Bitcoin blockchain. Dune Analytics is a platform that allows users to query and visualize data from blockchain networks.

Since the implementation of the Token Standard in the blockchain network, the creation of the ordinals has surged, as per Dune analytics. This trend is further confirmed by Leonidas, an NFT historian, who believes this recent development aligns with the growing popularity of blockchain-based inscriptions.

One reason for this popularity is the cost-effectiveness of paying fees directly proportional to the inscription size on the protocol. In addition, the BRC-20, enabled by Segwit and Taproot, is responsible for creating Bitcoin NFTs, known as Ordinals. Although they function differently, the result is similar.

The Ordinal Protocol

The Ordinals protocol has become prevalent in many areas, including profile pictures, games, and video-based apps. Recently, Yuga auctioned some of their art using the Ordinals protocol, resulting in a whopping $16 million in revenue.

A report by Galaxy Research projects that the Bitcoin NFT market will skyrocket to reach $4.5 billion by 2025, indicating a significant growth potential for this type of token. However, it’s worth noting that creating the ordinals has risks. Dom had to issue a disclaimer, cautioning users against creating worthless tokens using the BRC-20 standard on Twitter, and said that the token should not be taken as a standard.