What are Ordinal NFTs? – LCX

Ordinals are the present trend dominating Bitcoin. The daily record for Ordinals inscriptions exceeded four times in April 2023 alone, as consumers overwhelmed the website with photographs, games, and other types of content. Similar to NFTs, Ordinal NFTs are digital assets written on a satoshi, the smallest unit of Bitcoin (BTC). Thanks to the Taproot upgrade introduced on the Bitcoin network on November 14, 2021, satoshis, which have been named after the anonymous founder of Bitcoin, Satoshi Nakamoto, can be inscribed. 

Bitcoin Ordinals appear to have seized control of Web3, at least. Since software engineer Casey Rodarmor introduced the protocol on January 21, the space has been abuzz, with some enthusiastic about the forthcoming update and others swearing off Ordinals entirely. At the time of writing, over ten million Ordinals had been minted. Even though this appears to be a large quantity, there are actually numerous individuals who do not know how to buy or create them. With greater barriers to entry, there are numerous potential opportunities. However, this entails greater dangers. 

What are Ordinals? How are they Different From NFTs? 

Each Bitcoin is divided into 100,000,000 units known as satoshis. The new Ordinals protocol enables Bitcoin node operators to inscribe each block with information, building something known as an Ordinal. This Bitcoin data can contain smart contracts, which in exchange enable NFTs. Ordinals are NFTs that can be created immediately on the Bitcoin blockchain. 

However, that’s not precisely correct. This is the common notion, but there are several significant distinctions among NFTs and Ordinals.

Using dynamic metadata, NFTs on Ethereum (or an Ethereum Virtual Machine blockchain) frequently point to off-chain data on the Interplanetary File System (IPFS), a decentralized file storage system similar to the blockchain’s hard drive, that can be modified. Some NFT initiatives, for example, change the information in the metadata for particular NFTs to enhance image quality. They may even request that their holders select “refresh metadata” on OpenSea to obtain an updated, higher-quality image. 

Ordinals on Bitcoin might not only represent a cultural shift for Bitcoin but also a technical advance over NFTs. In light of this, here is how to purchase, receive, and preserve the first ordinals.