The “ordinals” are here to stay. Ordinals, or the ability to permanently mark the Bitcoin (BTC) blockchain with data, typically in image or jpeg format, is a controversial topic among some members of the Bitcoin and broader cryptocurrency community. Not so for the builders and CEOs of Bitcoin-focused companies who were present at the Advancing Bitcoin Bitcoin conference in London.
Cointelegraph asked several CEOs, builders, and key thought leaders for their thoughts on ordinals during the conference. The general feeling was one of curiosity, indifference, or deference.
Alex Leishman, CEO of River, told Cointelegraph that he does not yet have a stance on ordinals, but has recently been gifted an ordinal.
“In short, the idea of having this kind of meta-layer on top of Bitcoin that tracks Sats; having a separate state or mapping on the blockchain is really exciting and could potentially be interesting for other things.”
For example, Leishman recently played the old computer game Doom on an ordinal. “Someone had embedded doom in JavaScript and a small web page in an ordinal,” which Leishman uploaded from the blockchain.
Eric Sirion, co-founder and adviser to Fedi, and maintainer of the open-source protocol Fedimint, told Cointelegraph that he is also “pretty neutral” on Ordinals.
“Essentially, we can’t do anything about it in a way that is morally consistent. For example, if we try to fight it, what gives us the right to do so? And also, we cannot combat it effectively. […] So yeah, why worry about that?
Sirion added that he’s not necessarily a fan of the Ordinals, as he could exploit the blockchain a bit, but “Who am I to tell other people what to do with the fees they pay?”
Since then, Bitcoin’s blockchain has “inflated”, reaching an all-time high average block size, but the fees have remained more or less constant.
Benoit Mazouk, CEO of Bitcoinpoint, a UK-based exchange, shared Sirion’s concerns about blockchain congestion. He explained that while he understands that major Bitcoin thought leaders, such as Blocksstream CEO Dr. Adam Back, who commented that ordinals are “useless” (insert tweet), for Mazouk, he is “more into Bitcoin as a currency.” .
“you can’t stop them” well ofc! bitcoin is designed to be censor resistant. doesn’t stop us mildly commenting on the sheer waste and stupidity of an coding. at least do something efficient. otherwise it’s another proof of consumption of block-space thingy.
—Adam Back (@adam3us) January 29, 2023
“you can’t stop them” alright ofc! bitcoin is designed to be censorship resistant. doesn’t stop us from commenting gently on the sheer waste and stupidity of a coding. at least do something efficient. otherwise it’s another block space thingy consumption test.
Perhaps what is most concerning is that users could upload graphic images and offensive data to the blockchain. Recently, shocking porn was uploaded as ordinal.
However, resistance to permanence and censorship works both ways: Leishman claims that the creation of permanent records for potentially important or culturally significant events and data – such as Doom – can be permanently recorded on the blockchain. “Over time, ordinals can become composable and it’s really censorship-resistant content,” Leishman said.
Christian Keroles, CEO of Bitcoin Magazine, recently published a topical cultural reference to the censorship of Roahl Dahl’s books. CK wondered to what extent minting books on the blockchain would preserve the original copies.
Maybe banned books are worth inscribing to Bitcoin ♀️ https://t.co/WXpDYk4rzs
— ck (going to Bitcoin 2023) (@ck_SNARKs) February 28, 2023
Maybe it’s worth enrolling banned books on Bitcoin ♀️
Altogether, ordinals are beginning to change the way Bitcoin advocates use and approach Bitcoin. Ordinals offer another use case for the Bitcoin network on top of the first: peer-to-peer cash.
“Maybe the Bitcoin database has value for other things, and they’re willing to pay for it, which is good for the miners and maybe it really is.”
Miners have earned more revenue per block since the introduction of Ordinals, while video game fans can rest assured that Doom is playable, loaded from the Bitcoin blockchain.
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