The developers behind the innovative Bitcoin Ordinals protocol have recently implemented a groundbreaking upgrade aimed at resolving a pressing concern regarding over 71,000 invalid or what they have dubbed as “cursed” inscriptions. This significant update now enables these inscriptions to be traded seamlessly within the ecosystem.
The term “cursed inscriptions” refers to those inscriptions that were rendered invalid and unrecognized due to their creation through incorrect usage or intentional misuse of opcodes.
Just released a new version of ord (0.6.0), which implements the first steps in recognizing more types of inscriptions (cursed inscriptions). Additionally you can now pass in RPC credentials through command-line flags, environmental vars or a config file.https://t.co/Xi6C92cC6z
— raph (@raphjaph) June 4, 2023
On June 4, a group of developers, spearheaded by Casey Rodarmor, the creator of Ordinals, announced the release of version 0.6.0 of the protocol. This release marks a pivotal milestone in the process of indexing the previously unrecognized inscriptions. The proposal to address this issue was initially put forth by Casey Rodarmor back in late April, advocating for the recognition and conversion of these cursed inscriptions into “blessed” ones.
The upgrade includes the incorporation of support for a specific subset of the various types of cursed inscriptions. This is achieved by defining a block activation height, from which point onwards, previously invalid inscriptions of certain types will be indexed as valid positive inscriptions.
LeonidasNFT, a prominent influencer within the Ordinals community, explained that these newly indexed inscriptions would be added to the list of tradeable Ordinals. He emphasized the significance of this upgrade, stating, “This is important because over 70k existing but invalid inscriptions are now supported, which means that once marketplaces upgrade to v0.6.0, you will be able to start trading them.” He further noted that holders of cursed inscriptions should anticipate a shift in the negative inscription numbers.
Bitcoin Ordinals represents a unique class of nonfungible asset artifacts that facilitate the inscription of data onto the smallest unit of Bitcoin, known as a satoshi.
Version 0.6.0 of the Ordinals Protocol just went live!
— Leonidas.og (@LeonidasNFT) June 4, 2023
Here is everything you need to know about this major update:
Many previously unrecognized inscriptions are now indexed by the Ordinals Protocol as "Cursed Inscriptions". This is important because over 70k existing but… pic.twitter.com/Mh1pArg2p9
Initially launched by Casey Rodarmor in January, the Ordinals concept gained immense popularity the following month as thousands of inscriptions were engraved onto the Bitcoin blockchain. However, this influx of inscriptions caused congestion and resulted in spikes in transaction fees.
Ordinals inscriptions have garnered attention for their resemblance to NFTs, as they possess qualities of rarity and collectability. Users are drawn to the allure of owning a distinct piece of data permanently etched onto the Bitcoin blockchain, with the potential for these early or converted inscriptions on satoshis to accrue value over time.
According to data from Dune Analytics, since the commencement of the inscription frenzy earlier this year, approximately 10.8 million ordinal inscriptions have contributed $45.5 million in transaction fees.
On May 28, Casey Rodarmor announced his decision to step down from his leadership role, entrusting the future development of Ordinals to Raphjaph, a prominent figure within the Bitcoin Ordinals community.
