The Bitcoin network reached a significant milestone on April 11, surpassing 65 million Ordinals inscriptions. Ordinals, introduced in January 2023, are non-fungible tokens (NFTs) that operate directly on the Bitcoin blockchain, enhancing security by eliminating external vulnerabilities.
These Ordinals have generated over $458 million in network fees for Bitcoin miners, providing crucial revenue ahead of the upcoming BTC halving event, where mining rewards will be halved. This event, scheduled around April 19, will see block rewards decrease from 6.25 BTC to 3.125 BTC.
Mithil Thakore, CEO of Velar, noted that the increasing popularity of Ordinals is likely to spur the development of Bitcoin Layer-2 solutions capable of handling smart contracts. This development could integrate Ordinals and BTC into decentralized finance (DeFi), expanding the functionality of the Bitcoin ecosystem.
In addition to these milestones, April 11 also saw excitement in the BTC community as Ghostface Killah, a member of the Wu-Tang Clan, airdropped 10,000 music-infused Bitcoin Ordinals. This further highlights the growing intersection between cryptocurrency and popular culture.
Overall, the growth of Ordinals and the Bitcoin network not only demonstrate active engagement within the ecosystem but also set the stage for its expanded role in blockchain and finance. The evolution and expansion of Bitcoin into new realms of functionality signal an exciting time for the cryptocurrency ecosystem.
