Bitcoin NFTs Remain Popular, Miners Earn $4.7M in Fees as Ordinal Inscriptions Surpass 1 Million Mark
Exciting news for Bitcoin enthusiasts! On April 8th, 2023, the number of Ordinal inscriptions surpassed one million, marking a significant milestone in the non-fungible token (NFT) trend that has taken the world by storm. As of Sunday, April 9th, the total number of Ordinal inscriptions is 1,049,263, and miners have collected a whopping 169.85 bitcoins worth $4.7 million in fees.
So, what exactly are Ordinal inscriptions? They’re an innovative idea created by Casey Rodarmor that allows users to inscribe satoshis (Bitcoin’s smallest unit) with arbitrary content such as text, pictures, video, and even software. The trend gained significant momentum after the mining pool Luxor mined Bitcoin block No. 774,628, which was not only close to 4 megabytes in size but also contained Ordinal inscription No. 652.
According to Dune Analytics metrics compiled by the user @dgtl_assets, miners have collected 169.85 BTC worth $4.7 million associated with Ordinal inscriptions since the trend began. The same Dune user also offers insightful analytical data on the collective volume between six different Ordinal inscription marketplaces, including Ordinals Market, Ordswap, Ordinals Wallet, Open Ordex, Gamma, and Magic Eden. So far, these markets have seen an aggregate total volume of $19.31 million, with 53,124 trades executed by 18,462 unique traders.
It’s worth noting that while Bitcoin commands a great deal of the volume, the Ethereum blockchain is also accounted for in terms of volume. The leader in unique users by market is Ordinals Wallet, followed by Ordswap.
The milestone of one million Ordinal inscriptions comes at a time when a new way of minting arbitrary content to the Bitcoin blockchain has gained traction – called Bitcoin Stamps. Although there are currently only 17,293 Bitcoin Stamps on the Bitcoin network, the project has continued to see increased adoption since its creator, Twitter user Mike in Space, launched it. Furthermore, on the Litecoin blockchain, there are 224,054 Litecoin-based Ordinal inscriptions since the idea was ported over to Litecoin.
Overall, the world of cryptocurrencies continues to evolve, and it’s exciting to see how innovative ideas like Ordinal inscriptions and Bitcoin Stamps are pushing the boundaries of what’s possible on the blockchain.
Clever Robot News Desk 10th April 2023