$14.7 million worth of Bitcoin-based assets traded as Ordinals protocol gains momentum
In a compelling turn of events, Bitcoin Ordinals, a protocol enabling NFT-like assets on the Bitcoin blockchain, witnessed its highest transaction volume since May. As of the latest data from Domo’s dashboard, approximately $14.7 million worth of Bitcoin-based assets changed hands, signaling renewed interest in the Ordinals ecosystem.
Launched earlier this year, Ordinals allows users to create unique assets on the Bitcoin blockchain, assigning data to individual satoshis. These assets range from art and profile pictures to text, offering a novel approach to NFT creation on the Bitcoin network.
The majority of Tuesday’s trading volume occurred on the cryptocurrency exchange OKX, constituting 60% of daily Ordinals transactions, as reported by Domo’s dashboard. Notably, OKX rolled out trading support for Ordinals in May, contributing significantly to its trading activity.
However, it’s important to note that the dashboard did not capture recent activity on Binance, one of the leading cryptocurrency exchanges. Despite rolling out support for image-based Ordinals in May, Binance started allowing customers to trade ORDI, the first-ever BRC-20 token, on Tuesday.
As of the latest update, ORDI’s price has surged by 124% over the past day to $13.21, more than doubling its initial price on Binance’s platform. The total trading volume for ORDI across all exchanges reached $471 million over the past day, according to CoinGecko.
Charlie Spears of Bitcoin mining firm Luxor Technologies highlighted the impact of Binance’s move, stating that it “sent everything flying” related to Ordinals, whether in the form of fungible tokens or JPEGs. The surge in interest can also be attributed to Bitcoin’s recent climb towards $35,000.
Pioneered by the pseudonymous on-chain data analyst Domo, BRC-20 tokens draw inspiration from Ethereum’s ERC-20 standard. Domo issued the first BRC-20 token, ORDI, as an experiment in March. However, concerns arose as Binance mistakenly associated ORDI with the Ordinals project, prompting creator Casey Rodarmor to clarify the connection on Twitter.
Despite the confusion, the uptick in Ordinals transaction volume aligns with a broader resurgence in the NFT market. The industry experienced a three-month high in trading volume following a segment on NFTs in “The Simpsons.”
While Ordinals faced criticism in May due to high transaction fees, the recent data indicates a notable decrease in fees, potentially addressing previous concerns. Influential NFT firms, including Bored Ape Yacht Club maker Yuga Labs, have leveraged Ordinals to mint art on Bitcoin, contributing to the protocol’s momentum in the first half of the year.
With Binance’s recent support for ORDI, the BRC-20 token, Ordinals continues to play a pivotal role in shaping the landscape of Bitcoin-based NFTs. As the market dynamics evolve, the intersection of blockchain technology and digital assets remains an exciting space to watch.
