Bitcoin Ordinals are taking the network by storm yet again. The total count of minted Bitcoin Ordinals Inscriptions has climbed to a new record.
This milestone coincides with the second anniversary of the activation of the highly awaited Bitcoin upgrade, Taproot, which occurred at block 709,632 on November 14th and was the catalyst for the inception of the Ordinals.
Bitcoin Ordinals Explode
According to data compiled by Dune Analytics, the number of Bitcoin Ordinals Inscriptions minted surged to 505,000, marking a new record. Primarily driven by BRC-20, this spike has pushed the overall number of Bitcoin Inscriptions to surpass 40 million as of November 12th.
Notably, Atomical attracted over 28,000 mintings on November 14th, with a substantial fee payment of 2,63 BTC.
This fee amount ranks second only to the protocol’s launch on September 23. The surge in minting activity is predominantly attributed to the creation of the meme token DMINT following the official release of documentation for the dmint update.
Ordinal Inscriptions, akin to NFTs, represent digital assets engraved on a satoshi, the smallest unit of Bitcoin (BTC). The ability to inscribe on satoshis was made possible with the introduction of the Taproot upgrade, which was implemented on the Bitcoin network exactly two years ago.
Backlash and Silver Lining
The resurgence of the Ordinals has triggered a massive surge in Bitcoin fees, which increased to the highest level since the meme coin mania this past May. Earlier this week, the average Bitcoin fee spiked to $15.86.
This has prompted critics to reiterate their stance that the emergence of these Bitcoin-linked NFTs is abusing the network. However, Ordinals developer Casey Rodarmor argued that such accusations are baseless.
Moreover, Ordinals’ resurgence has helped the bottom line of bitcoin miners, with blockchain transaction fees now contributing nearly 8.5% of their revenue, according to a report by asset manager 21Shares.
“Transaction fees now constitute ~8.5% of miners’ revenue, which is timely in the context of Bitcoin’s approaching halving, which will reduce the block rewards from 6.25 to 3.125 BTC, which some see as a deterrent for continuing to support Bitcoin’s mining activities. This is also relevant as it shows an appetite for engagement with the underlying network.”
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