Bitcoin Ordinals NFTs are not slowing down to the rejoicing of miners
The Bitcoin Ordinals NFTs have been gaining traction of late, and the hype is not stopping. It’s growing at a very fast pace, with new information coming. Miners are now having a glimpse of hope for life post-20224-BTC-halving.
What are BTC Ordinals NFTs?
Bitcoin Ordinals NFTs are NFTs hosted on the Bitcoin network via the Ordinals protocol. These NFTs are inscribed on the network by assigning the metadata on the NFTs to Satoshis (smallest units of bitcoin).
The result is non-fungible tokens on the network that can change ownership and never be altered. As such, the NFTs are inscribed on satoshis, and their transactions follow the same process as bitcoin. That means bitcoin miners are working behind the transactions.
Now, the Ordinals NFTs are consuming over 50% of bitcoin block space, which shows how fast the NFTs are claiming the market. Since they began gaining traction in December 2022, over 75K NFTs have been minted, with over 20.8K being minted on Feb 9, according to Dune Analytics.
Miners are among the major beneficiaries in the Ordinals NFT craze
As such, Miners are some of the key beneficiaries of the NFT craze. By now, the miners have earned a cumulative $574K in BTC transaction fees. These NFTs are not limited to images only.
Users can inscribe different types of media, including what some are calling “digital artifacts” stemming from clones of popular projects like BAYC and MAYC collections.
At the moment, the Bitcoin network rewards minders with 6.25 BTC per block; however, this amount will drop by 50% to 3.125 BTC in the Spring of 2024 when the halving event happens. As a result, the miners’ rewards will fall.
However, there might be some hope for them with how the Ordinals NFTs are coming along and increasing their activity. Even when block rewards decrease, miners may increase their rewards if the NFTs continue booming. Additionally, some Ordinals include MEVs, (Miner extractable value) that have been on the Ethereum Network for some time.
Miner extractable value is the maximum value that miners can get from producing new blocks that are beyond block rewards and transaction fees.
Where is this headed?
Innovation is always a welcome idea in most technologically inclined organizations and start-ups. However, it is not always received well, as it can be weaponized to bring a downfall to an initially strong and successful entry.
These mixed reactions are common in the Bitcoin community. Some critics argue that the BTC Ordinals are an attack on the network as they alter its original and pivotal goal.
Others were concerned about the storage of illegal media on the network, which could be harmful in the long term
The bitcoin network was meant to be a peer-to-peer value exchange network meaning it was an alternative to money. As such, its basic means of exchanging value was the digitization of money, not the digital representation of assets and media. Others believe that the developments are good news for Bitcoin miners.
However, only time will tell if the developments are a good thing for Bitcoin or not.
