A Comprehensive Initial Guide to Bitcoin Ordinals – The Emerging NFT Trend of 2023

- What exactly are Bitcoin Ordinals, and who initiated the Ordinal Protocol?
- What’s the reasoning behind calling Bitcoin NFTs 'Ordinals'?
- Prominent examples of Ordinals on the Bitcoin blockchain.
- Which Ordinals to buy?
- How to buy a Bitcoin Ordinal?
- Bitcoin Ordinal wallets
- Marketplaces for Ordinals
- Conclusion
If you’ve noticed increased discussions regarding Bitcoin Ordinals, it’s largely tied to the introduction of the Ordinal Protocol in January and the ensuing excitement within the NFT community. Ordinal Punks The newly implemented Ordinal protocol brings unprecedented functionalities to the Bitcoin network, allowing users to assign unique identifiers to individual satoshis and accompany them with linked visuals, audio, or text—known collectively as inscriptions, or simply Ordinals in everyday terms.
What exactly are Bitcoin Ordinals, and who initiated the Ordinal Protocol?
Created by software engineer Casey Rodarmor As per insights from Dune Analytics, over 120,000 Ordinals have already been recorded on the Bitcoin blockchain since the Ordinal protocol's launch last month, with transaction fees exceeding $170,000 recorded on February 15.
In a recent blog, Rodarmor described inscriptions as digital artifacts, categorically placing them in the NFT realm, although he argues not all NFTs can be classified as digital artifacts. He insists that true digital artifacts should meet certain elevated criteria, closely aligning with their ideal forms. inscribed Rodarmor articulates that while all digital artifacts can be deemed NFTs, the converse is not universally applicable. Digital artifacts must be decentralized, unchangeable, logged on-chain, and available without restrictions to be truly considered as such.
What’s the reasoning behind calling Bitcoin NFTs 'Ordinals'?
Conversely, NFT advocates like Twitter personality @OGDfarmer contest this viewpoint. They assert that Ordinals can’t be fully considered NFTs due to the absence of programmable functionality, which limits their potential applications. Regardless, many on Crypto Twitter have embraced the term 'Ordinals' to describe these nascent digital assets residing on the Bitcoin blockchain.
Inscriptions are digital artifacts An intriguing aspect of Ordinals has been highlighted, namely their ability to maintain a record of the global minting sequence. This contrasts with Ethereum NFTs, which often track minting order within distinct collections. Consequently, the first 1,000 Ordinals hold a considerable value, with some not available for purchase.
Rodarmor wrote in his blog post.
This marks the very first Ordinal inscribed on the Bitcoin blockchain back in December 2022. It remains unique, with little known about the individual behind the inscription.
Prominent examples of Ordinals on the Bitcoin blockchain.
The CEO of Forgotten Runes dotta A nod to Ether Rock on Ethereum, the collection features 100 Bitcoin Rocks among the initial 250 inscriptions, marking the first complete collection on the Bitcoin blockchain. The originator is credited with minting the inaugural rock at Inscription #71, with the price for Inscription #180 reaching a staggering 1,000 BTC.
Inscription 0

Price points for Bitcoin Rock Ordinals, including the eye-popping 1,000 BTC offer.
Bitcoin Rocks

The current lowest price in the collection stands at 3 BTC. Bitcoin Rocks The early inscriptions, starting from inscription 19, were completed before Bitcoin Rocks. Notably, the project's Discord channel has been temporarily shut down, and the Shrooms have not yet gone on sale. @ordrocks Ordinal Punks, a prominent collection within the Ordinals scene, boasts 100 CryptoPunk derivative profile pictures created through an algorithm. One notable piece, Punk94, fetched 9.5 BTC at sale. The excitement surrounding this project has kindled debates between Bitcoin purists and influencers about the necessity for jpegs on the Bitcoin blockchain.

For those keen on acquiring an Ordinal Loops NFT, participation in auctions is required, as no direct over-the-counter buying options are available right now according to the project's Discord.
Bitcoin Shrooms
According to dotta, some of the Bitcoin Shrooms Starting from inscription 957, this collection of enigmatic characters pays homage to Satoshi Nakamoto, the mysterious figure credited with Bitcoin's creation. Similar to Nakamoto, little is known about the mind behind this collection, and none of the Ordinals have changed hands yet.
Ordinal Punks

For many of the initial 1,000 inscriptions, they either lie beyond the reach of potential buyers or are not up for sale at all. Distinct from traditional NFT structures, Bitcoin Ordinals lack rarity tiers, placing value primarily on earlier inscriptions, which is why the Ordinal Punks stressed that their collection falls within the first 650 inscriptions on the Bitcoin blockchain.
Ordinal Loops
According to the Ordinal Loops website Grabbing hold of the first 1,000 Ordinals is strongly encouraged as early adopters are poised to benefit significantly. On the flip side, those unable to afford them might want to target the initial 10,000.
Among the standout projects within the first 10,000 inscriptions is a derivative of the enormously popular Moonbirds from Ethereum, which transitioned to a CC0 public license in August 2022. The 100 Ordinal Birds start from inscription 2,728 and have sold out, with the exception of Birds #94, #96, #98, and #100 that are being held for Kevin Rose, the CEO of PROOF, the entity behind Moonbirds, as a token of gratitude for his inspiration. Still, OTC sales of Ordinal Birds are being facilitated through an escrow service on the project's Discord.
The Shadow Hats

Another noteworthy project is DeGods, a previously elite NFT collection from Solana, which signaled its migration to Ethereum. Co-founder Frank DeGods joined the Ordinals movement, collaborating with collector and software developer Nick Hansen to inscribe 535 DeGods onto the Bitcoin blockchain, all packed into a single block.
Which Ordinals to buy?
This measure was taken to ensure no random, low-quality Ordinals were minted between the 535 DeGod inscriptions. investing in regular NFTs These inscriptions are permanently etched onto the Bitcoin blockchain.
The wallet software tied to the Ordinals protocol, known as 'ord,' facilitates the storage and viewing of Bitcoin Ordinals. However, due to inherent limitations of the Bitcoin network, these Ordinals cannot connect with blockchain networks utilizing smart contract capabilities like Ethereum, Polygon, BNB Chain, and Avalanche.

Unlike a majority of NFT collections, the trading of Ordinals is somewhat limited at present since the idea of NFTs on Bitcoin is still developing. That said, you can place bids for Ordinals in auctions on platforms like Scarce City, which proclaims itself as 'a marketplace that leverages Bitcoin technology for selling Bitcoin items for Bitcoin.' Ordinal Birds Most Ordinals transactions occur via peer-to-peer channels using Discord from the individual Bitcoin Ordinal projects. For instance, offers and requests for certain collections are monitored through a Google Sheet and an escrow service.
Users looking to mint, sell, transfer, or trade an Ordinal are required to operate a full node on the Bitcoin blockchain.
How to buy a Bitcoin Ordinal?
Now, users can receive, store, and view Ordinals through the Xverse application, with the added benefit that they no longer need to run a full Bitcoin node for minting an Ordinal. To inscribe an Ordinal, users can simply upload their chosen image or text within the app, then send a transaction to the designated Ordinals address and pay a transaction fee in BTC, which they could procure via a fiat on-ramp service included in the app. The newly inscribed Ordinal typically appears in the Xverse wallet within half an hour.
Gamma.io, a specialized marketplace for Bitcoin NFTs, takes care of the actual Ordinal inscription process, reportedly minting about five percent of all Ordinals on the blockchain itself. Stacks—a layer 1.5 blockchain that supports its own NFT economy—is also integrated with Xverse. The wallet can be downloaded from the App Store, Google Play, and from Google. Scarce City The Hiro Wallet operates in much the same way as Xverse, with Gamma handling the inscription process, leaving the resulting Ordinals to be directly deposited into a user's account under the 'Collectibles' section. Plans are underway to expand support for both Stacks-centric NFTs and Ordinal inscriptions, with a new “Bitcoin Web3” web app set to showcase a comprehensive gallery of users' Stacks NFTs and Ordinal inscriptions, as detailed by Mark Hendrickson, Product Lead for Hiro Wallet.
In addition to Scarce City, other platforms for trading Ordinals are reportedly in the pipeline. Ordinal Punks and Bitcoin Rocks The emergence of the Ordinal Protocol has not only added a fresh dimension to the Bitcoin network but has also led to a wave of new Ordinal projects and over 120,000 inscriptions recorded since January 2023.
Although Bitcoin Ordinals do not possess rarity tiers, the value lies in the earliest inscriptions, creating significant profit opportunities for early adopters and holders of these primary entries. For those keen on purchasing Bitcoin Ordinals, peer-to-peer transactions via Discord communities of specific projects or auctions like Scarce City remain the primary means of acquisition.
Bitcoin Ordinal wallets
Although Bitcoin NFTs are still in their infancy, they exhibit the potential to evolve into a fully-fledged asset class akin to what we witnessed with NFTs on Ethereum and comparable smart contract platforms.
Ordinals Wallet
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Xverse

With Xverse NFT.com Debuts in Public Beta, Collaborates with Unstoppable Domains.
An Introductory Overview of Bitcoin Ordinals - The Latest NFT Phenomenon of 2023 Metaverse Post Chrome extension .
Hiro

Table of ContentsWhat are Bitcoin Ordinals, and who is behind the Ordinal Protocol?Why are these Bitcoin NFTs referred to as Ordinals?Key Ordinals from the Bitcoin blockchain.
Marketplaces for Ordinals
An Introductory Overview of Bitcoin Ordinals - The Latest NFT Phenomenon of 2023 generative.xyz ; bitColl, Meta Fabric; Gamma ; and Ordinali .
Conclusion
An Introductory Overview of Bitcoin Ordinals - The Latest NFT Phenomenon of 2023
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Disclaimer
In line with the Trust Project guidelines If you've noticed the buzz around Bitcoin Ordinals recently, it's due to the launch of the Ordinal protocol in January, sparking excitement in the NFT community.