Bitcoin Ordinals Protocol Upgraded to Enable Trading of Previously Invalid Inscriptions

Bitcoin Ordinals Protocol Upgraded to Enable Trading of Previously Invalid Inscriptions

Developers of the Bitcoin Ordinals protocol have released an upgrade that aims to resolve the issue of over 71,000 invalid or “cursed” inscriptions, allowing them to be traded. These cursed inscriptions were created through incorrect or intentional misuse of opcodes, rendering them invalid and unrecognized.

On June 4, developers, including Twitter user Raphjaph, announced the release of version 0.6.0 of the Ordinals protocol, marking the first step towards indexing the previously unrecognized inscriptions.

The proposal to address this problem was initially put forward in late April by Casey Rodarmor, the creator of Ordinals, with the goal of recognizing these cursed inscriptions and converting them into “blessed” ones.

The upgrade introduces support for a subset of the various types of cursed inscriptions. This is achieved by defining a block activation height at which specific types of previously invalid inscriptions will start being indexed as normal positive inscriptions.

LeonidasNFT, an influencer in the Ordinals community, explained that these inscriptions would be included in the list of tradable indexed Ordinals. He emphasized the significance of this upgrade, stating that once marketplaces adopt version 0.6.0, trading of these previously invalid inscriptions will become possible.

It should be noted that the introduction of this upgrade will result in a shift in the negative inscription numbers for holders of cursed inscriptions.

Bitcoin Ordinals are non-fungible asset artifacts that enable data to be inscribed onto the smallest unit of Bitcoin, known as a satoshi.

The protocol was launched in January by Casey Rodarmor, and the following month witnessed a surge in inscription activity as thousands of inscriptions were added to the Bitcoin blockchain. This led to network congestion and spikes in transaction fees.

Ordinals inscriptions have been likened to NFTs in terms of their rarity and collectability. Users seek unique pieces of data permanently etched onto the Bitcoin blockchain, making these early or converted inscriptions on satoshis potentially valuable in the future.

According to data from Dune Analytics, 10.8 million ordinal inscriptions have generated $45.5 million in transaction fees since the craze began earlier this year.

On May 28, Casey Rodarmor announced his departure from the project, handing over the reins to Raphjaph.