The Bitcoin network has achieved a significant milestone by surpassing 65 million Ordinals inscriptions just days before the much-anticipated Bitcoin halving.
Ordinals, the first iteration of nonfungible tokens (NFTs) on Bitcoin, reached the 65 million mark on April 11, less than one year and three months since their launch in January 2023, according to Dune data.
Ordinals are unique as they reside solely on the Bitcoin blockchain, unlike most popular NFT collections that store their metadata on centralized servers, introducing additional vulnerabilities.
This achievement holds significance as it comes just before the Bitcoin halving, which will reduce block rewards from 6.25 Bitcoin to 3.125 BTC, highlighting the importance of Ordinals in generating network fees for Bitcoin miners.
The milestone underscores the increased demand for block space on Bitcoin and the necessity for additional layer-2 networks. Mithil Thakore, CEO of Velar, emphasizes that Ordinals’ growing prevalence signals the need for utility around them, driving the rise of Bitcoin decentralized finance (BTCFi) to support smart contracts and bring BTC into DeFi.
BTCFi, aiming to bring DeFi capabilities to the Bitcoin network, could match or even exceed the innovation and complexity seen in Ethereum-based DeFi. Nash Lee, co-founder of MerlinSwap, suggests that the market’s appetite for expansive platforms capable of accommodating surging volumes sets the stage for Bitcoin DeFi to flourish.
Get $200 Free Bitcoins every hour! No Deposit No Credit Card required. Sign Up