The ordinals protocol utilises inscriptions, which are pieces of content such as text or images that can be attached to sequentially numbered sats
Image: Shutterstock
The recent launch of the Ordinals protocol, which allows NFTs to be stored on the Bitcoin blockchain, has created a divide between those who believe the blockchain should only be used for financial transactions and others who see the network as capable of supporting multiple applications, including meme-based art.
According to Casey Rodarmor, the creator of Ordinals, the protocol utilises "inscriptions," which are pieces of content such as text or images that can be attached to sequentially numbered "sats" (the smallest units of Bitcoin). This creates one-of-a-kind "digital artefacts" that can be held and transferred on the Bitcoin network like any other sats.
The current version of Ordinals would not have been possible without the SegWit upgrade in 2017 and the Taproot upgrade in 2021 for Bitcoin.
SegWit improved Bitcoin's scalability by adding a block field to store "witness data", such as signatures and public keys for transactions, but limitations were imposed due to security risks.
Taproot addressed these security issues and allowed the previous SegWit restrictions to be lifted, enabling the storage of large amounts of NFT data on the blockchain. This has provided a suitable foundation for Ordinals.