The developers of the Bitcoin Ordinals protocol have introduced a new upgrade to correct more than 71,000 invalid inscriptions that were previously untradeable. These inscriptions are often the result of misuse and have been unusable and non-negotiable until now.
However, with this recent development, developers have taken the first step towards addressing this long-standing problem.
Developers have released the new version 0.6.0 of the Ordinals protocol
Bitcoin Ordinals refer to non-fungible asset artifacts that allow data to be inscribed on the smallest unit of Bitcoin, known as a satoshi.
According to Dune analysis$45.5 million has been generated from 10.8 million ordinal inscriptions since the start of this year. On June 4, a notable developer, Raphjaph, announced that the latest version of Ordinals, 0.6.0, is available.
He added that this development would mark a turning point in recognizing these previously unrecognized inscriptions, allowing them to be traded again.
Essentially, “Cursed Inscriptions” was coined to describe inscriptions generated by improper use or manipulation of opcodes during creation.
As a result of these processes, the registrations became invalid and not recognized by the system.
Ordinals creator Casey Roadarmor first suggested to solve the problem at the end of April by recognizing these cursed inscriptions and converting them to “Blessed One”.
Roadarmor wanted to change the ordinals protocol to recognize multiple inscriptions per transaction, inscriptions with unrecognized even headers, etc.
As such, the improvements in the latest version optimize the “ord” system, streamline enrollments and ensure customer agreement, improving efficiency, flexibility and compatibility.
Meanwhile, Ordinals promoter LeonidasNFT said that the “cursed inscriptions”, as recognized by the final version of the Ordinal, act as a “springboard”, providing a path for previously invalid inscriptions to become visible.
Ordinals spark controversy and record transaction costs
Since the launch of the Bitcoin Ordinals protocol in January 2023 by Casey Rodarmor, there have been multiple speculations about transaction fees and slower speeds.
One of the main concerns of the community is the undeniable and unwanted impact of Ordinals on Bitcoin’s network capacity and scalability.
There is a strong increase in it BTC transaction fees caused by the increase in BRC-20 activity which is highly dependent on ordinal inscriptions.
The trading frenzy surrounding BRC-20 meme coins like Pepe (PEPE) pushed transaction fees to the highest level since 2021.
The blockchain has faced massive congestion as users continue to use BTC to mint new tokens paid through Ordinals subscriptions.
On May 7, congestion reached a critical point when Binance stopped BTC withdrawals temporarily by about 400,000 in treatment transactions that overload the mempool.
Balancing Ordinals’ innovation with the need for a scalable Bitcoin network poses a challenge that must be addressed to ensure the continued success of the cryptocurrency.
Featured image from Pixabay and chart from TradingView
