Assessing Bitcoin Ordinals resurgence as Inscriptions make new record

• Ordinals Inscriptions are unique digital assets created using Bitcoin’s native scripting language.
• Bitcoin Ordinals are struggling with improved activity on several marketplaces.

Bitcoin [BTC] Ordinals Inscriptions, a collection of Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) on the Bitcoin network, have attained a new milestone.

The number of daily Inscriptions minted in a single block surpassed 14,000. And this occurred at a time when interest in the assets seemed to have simmered down.

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Breakthrough in Satoshi land

This new landmark has helped the total Inscriptions minted to rise above 1.5 million. According to Dune Analytics, the total Inscription minted to date was 1,555,971.

Source: Dune Analytics

Ordinals Inscriptions are unique digital assets created using Bitcoin’s native scripting language. These assets can represent anything from music to images, texts, or applications. And since they became mainstream in January, they have been in the spotlight.

In a more detailed context, Ordinals are serial numbers of each satoshi, the smallest Bitcoin denomination assigned to an input. Therefore, Ordinals enable Inscriptions to allow digital assets to be stamped on these satoshis.

These pieces of engraved data emerged as a result of Bitcoin’s ability to include data directly on-chain. Unlike Ethereum [ETH]-based NFTs, images are not the most popular collectible on the Bitcoin network. 

Instead, text Inscriptions have been at the helm of reign. Even with the recent highlight, texts took over the show again, amassing over 190,000 on 23 April mints. Images, on the other hand, could only record a meager 2174 identified.

Source: Dune Analytics

Tripping down the hill

Despite the increase in Inscriptions production, there have been some downsides to the Bitcoin Ordinals’ activity. According to the blockchain-query dashboard, the volume across all marketplaces hit a two-month low.

Recall that the hype around the assets propelled an expansion into other NFT marketplaces. Around that time, former Solana [SOL] only-based marketplace Magic Eden joined to increase patronage.

Source: Dune Analytics

However, it seemed that the move has not yet paid off in a blistering manner. At press time, the volume recorded on 23 April was less than $130,000 as shown above. 

Although this increased the all-time volume above $22 million, the decline implied that participation had slowed since there was fewer number of successfully-completed transactions. 

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However, Bitcoin Ordinals can find solace in the fact that it was continually attracting owners of the assets. At the time of writing, the cumulative number of unique users had increased. 

In a related development, Ordinals’ open-source extension, UniSat Wallet disclosed that it had been exposed to a double-spend attack. This has occurred despite being the first marketplace to provide the BRC-20 wallet.

A double-spend attack is a flaw unique to digital assets where multiple transactions sharing the same input are broadcasted on a network. However, UniSat noted that it will compensate those affected.

We will compensate all affected users at a certain time in the coming days, and conduct a comprehensive inspection and consolidation of the issues that have been exposed.

The subsequent service opening time will be updated here.

Thank you for your support and your patience.

— UniSat Wallet – Store, Inscribe and Search. (@unisat_wallet) April 24, 2023