In a recent quarterly report released by DappRadar, it has been revealed that the creation of Bitcoin Ordinals inscriptions on the Bitcoin blockchain has resulted in an impressive trading volume of over $210 million. This data highlights the soaring popularity of Bitcoin Ordinals and the substantial increase in trading volume throughout the second quarter of 2023.
The report indicates a significant surge in Bitcoin Ordinals trading volume, with numbers climbing from $7.18 million in the first quarter of the year to an astounding $210.7 million by the end of June. DappRadar’s analysis attributes this quarterly increase to a staggering 2834%. Furthermore, the report unveils that the total number of Ordinals trades during Q2 exceeded 550,000, with approximately 150,000 unique traders contributing to the inflated trading volume midway through 2023.
The Dune blockchain analytics dashboard, which presents various marketplace metrics of Bitcoin Ordinals from the user perspective, also demonstrates a notable rise in unique users starting in May 2023. Among the marketplace tools, UniSat, an open-source Chrome browser extension for Bitcoin Ordinals and BRC-20 tokens, along with Magic Eden and Ordinals Wallet, account for the majority of unique users.
The growing popularity of Bitcoin Ordinals has had a notable impact on the non-fungible token (NFT) landscape as well. Towards the end of May 2023, Bitcoin surpassed Solana to become the second most popular NFT blockchain, leaving Ethereum as the only cryptocurrency blockchain ahead in terms of NFT trading volumes.
Furthermore, Ordinals have proven to be highly advantageous for the Bitcoin mining industry. BTC miners have accumulated approximately $184 million in revenue during the first half of 2023. Coin Metrics, a leading blockchain analytics firm, attributes the boost in mining fees to Ordinals and BRC-20 tokens, noting that the fees have already surpassed the total amount earned by BTC miners in 2022.
Bitcoin Ordinals Spark Builder Culture Revival, Says Ethereum Co-Founder Vitalik Buterin
In a recent Twitter Space discussion on July 7, Vitalik Buterin, the co-founder of Ethereum, lauded the emergence of Bitcoin Ordinals as a significant step towards the revival of a vibrant builder culture within the Bitcoin network.
Buterin engaged in a lengthy conversation with Bitcoin proponents Eric Wall and Udi Wertheimer, exploring the potential lessons Bitcoin developers could learn from their counterparts in the Ethereum ecosystem. Buterin specifically commended Ordinals and the BRC-20 token standard, emphasizing their role in rejecting what he described as the “stagnant” politics prevailing within the Bitcoin ecosystem.
During the extensive discussion, scalability emerged as a central theme. Wall expressed concerns about the inability of Bitcoin’s Lightning Network to scale effectively for future users, citing frequent failures when processing “even medium-sized payments.”
In response, Buterin proposed a strategic focus on implementing diverse layer-2 solutions and finding ways to enhance the efficiency of Bitcoin’s underlying layer.
The conversation lasted nearly two hours, delving into various aspects of Bitcoin’s development and exploring avenues for further collaboration and innovation between the Ethereum and Bitcoin communities.
