Binance discontinues Bitcoin NFTs to streamline offerings

In a blog post, Binance revealed plans to halt any further airdrops, benefits, or utilities related to Bitcoin NFTs after April 10, as part of its “ongoing efforts to streamline product offerings.” Trading and deposit support for Bitcoin NFTs will end at 6 a.m. UTC on April 18, prohibiting users from buying, bidding, or listing NFTs on the platform. Consequently, all existing orders will be canceled at this time. The exchange also recommended users to withdraw their Bitcoin NFTs by 12 a.m. UTC on May 18.

The announcement specifically mentioned Bitcoin-based Runestone NFTs, noting that users eligible for the recent Runestone airdrop had received their NFTs by April 4. However, Binance advised these users to withdraw their NFTs by April 10 to secure any related tokens, utilities, and benefits, as trading of Runestone NFTs will not be supported during this period.

This decision marks an end to the support of the Bitcoin blockchain by Binance’s NFT marketplace, which was initiated in June 2023. It comes amidst a surge of interest in Bitcoin Ordinals NFTs, particularly with the NodeMonkes collection witnessing a substantial rise in floor prices last month, even surpassing the Bored Ape Yacht Club in market capitalization.

The Bitcoin Ordinals protocol was introduced by Casey Rodarmor in January 2023 to enable the storage and trade of digital content on the Bitcoin blockchain. By using satoshis, the smallest units of bitcoin, users can embed NFTs, BRC-20 tokens, and various data onto the blockchain, making each piece a unique, tradable asset. The distinction between “Ordinals” and “inscriptions” lies in the technical details, where an ordinal refers to a unique identifier for a satoshi, and an inscription represents the attached content or data.

The growing popularity of Ordinals has sparked debate over the appropriateness of inscriptions, such as NFTs and BRC-20 tokens, existing on Bitcoin. This activity has also led to increased congestion on the network, resulting in higher transaction fees and processing delays for users not paying these elevated costs.