The Bitcoin Ordinals NFTs, which were unveiled in January, introduced a novel approach to the cryptocurrency sphere by seamlessly incorporating NFTs and smart contracts within the Bitcoin blockchain.
The introduction of this groundbreaking approach swiftly captured a substantial level of attention, leading to considerable benefits for tokens such as STX, the native token of the Stacks Network—a Bitcoin layer 2 solution.
In the aftermath, Luminex, the launchpad for Ordinals, introduced the BRC-69 token standard, which marked a significant milestone. This novel standard, derived from the BRC-20, aimed to drastically slash the inscription costs for Ordinals by more than 90%.
For further elucidation on the cost reduction process, Luminex provided a comprehensive explanation in a series of tweets. The process encompasses four sequential steps: trait inscription, collection deployment, collection compilation, and ultimately, asset minting.
BRC-69 Standard
The simplicity of BRC-69 is its standout feature. When creating Bitcoin NFTs, minters only need to inscribe a single line of text instead of a full image. This text serves as the basis for automatically generating the final image across all ordinals-frontends. Thanks to the ingenious implementation of recursive inscriptions, this process relies solely on on-chain resources.
In spite of a significant rise in new inscriptions, the fees associated with daily inscriptions have demonstrated minimal fluctuations, as indicated by data analyzed by Dune Analytics. This implies that the fee structure for Ordinals has remained relatively low, maintaining a significant distance from the peak levels witnessed in May.
Based on data provided by Glassnode, the surge in Ordinals witnessed a distinct division into two waves. The initial wave, spanning from early February to late April, was primarily driven by inscriptions based on images. The second wave emerged in May, characterized by a notable increase in text-based inscriptions accompanied by higher fees being paid.
The integration of Bitcoin Ordinals NFTs has added a new layer of functionality to the Bitcoin blockchain. The notable upswing in daily inscriptions signifies a bright and promising future for this groundbreaking approach.
