Since its inception, Bitcoin has been hailed by some as a revolutionary technology with the potential to transform the way we conduct transactions using a new financial layer.
Recently, a new innovation has emerged that could unlock new possibilities for the Bitcoin network to also function as a cultural layer.
Ordinals, which refer to NFT-like assets on the Bitcoin network, had their start in December 2022 when Bitcoin developer Casey Rodarmor released the ORD software.
Each bitcoin can be subdivided into 100 million smaller units called “satoshis,” and while normally these satoshis are fungible, ORD assigns numerical values to individual satoshis, allowing for uniqueness.
More specifically, ORD, which runs on top of a Bitcoin Core full node, allows users to add arbitrary data to a Bitcoin transaction (“inscription”) and tie the data to an individual satoshi (“ordinal”).
Ordinals have generated a great deal of attention in the crypto ecosystem, surpassing one million inscriptions on April 8, 2023, and sparking a conversation about the potential to unlock new possibilities for the Bitcoin network.
