Thanks to the revolutionary Ordinals protocol, the Bitcoin network is witnessing unprecedented interaction, surpassing 10 million entries in its blockchain record. The news comes in the wake of the project's main supervisor, Casey Rordamor, stepping down.
According to Dune Analytics data, Bitcoin now boasts an exact count of 10,018,046 entries via the Ordinals protocol. An overwhelming number of these entries were amassed over the previous month.
The term "entry" refers to the data incorporated in the evidence of a Bitcoin transaction. While the capacity to create entries has always been inherent in Bitcoin, the introduction of Ordinals facilitates users to record data in a distinct satoshi, ushering in numerous potential utilities.
Initially, when Ordinals entries started gaining momentum in February, their primary utility was to manufacture non-fungible tokens (NFTs), which transformed Bitcoin into the second most sought-after platform for NFT transactions, trailing Ethereum, according to data from CryptoSlam.
However, Ordinals entries escalated in April when users began utilizing the protocol to introduce fungible cryptocurrency tokens through the trial BRC-20 token model. Initially, this model was primarily utilized for launching meme coins, but it now hosts the exclusive Bitcoin stablecoin, Stably USD (USD).
In March, BRC-20 incited a flood of new entries commencing in April and gained popularity in the following month. The shift from NFTs to BRC-20 tokens in Ordinals is evident in the blockchain through the replacement of image-based entries by text-based ones during that period.
However, some Bitcoin enthusiasts, such as Blockstream CEO Adam Back, argue that Ordinals is causing congestion in Bitcoin's blockchain, making transactions more costly. Conversely, prominent Bitcoin investor Michael Saylor perceives Ordinals as a potential bedrock for future innovation, including digital securities trading.
Supporters of Ordinals were swift to commemorate Monday's significant achievement. Dan Held, former Product Manager at Kraken, conveyed on Twitter his belief that Ordinals is not a fleeting trend.