Ordinals, likened to NFTs stored on the Bitcoin blockchain network, have surpassed 100,000 inscriptions in just a few weeks.
The protocol, designed and launched last month by software engineer Casey Rodarmor, has seen 50,000 added in the last five days. Most would appear to be pictures, audio files and PDFs, but any kind of encrypted data can be added.
To buy or trade Ordinals, a Bitcoin Ordinal wallet is needed. Not available on marketplaces such as OpenSea, it is impossible to verify sales, which are mostly agreed in discord channels and primarily among Bitcoin node operators.
Prominent projects include Bitcoin Shrooms, Astral Babes and Bitcoin Punks – the latter being Bitcoin-based uploads of Ethereum CryptoPunks. One of these has now reportedly sold for 9.5 BTC, approximately $215,000, although this cannot be verified.
And according to one Reddit user posting in r/CryptoCurrency, a new Ordinal – namely inscription 2042, consisting of one second of audio featuring a wet fart – has sold for 12.3 BTC, the equivalent of $280,000.
The buzz around Ordinals may be helping the crypto market, with BTC approaching $25,000 – it’s highest point since August – after adding 11% in the last 24 hours.