• BitMEX Research has identified over 13,000 Ordinals NFTs on the Bitcoin blockchain.
• The sudden influx of JPEGs and other media files onto Bitcoin has consumed 526 megabytes (MB) of block space and cost creators 6.77 bitcoin (roughly $155,000).
• Critics have accused the Ordinals crowd of „spamming“ the most dominant blockchain with oversized JPEGs.

Explosion in Popularity for Bitcoin NFTs

Interest has skyrocketed following the first Ordinals transaction on Dec. 14 as crypto derivatives firm BitMEX released a blog post showing that 13,000 Ordinals were minted or „inscribed“ between their debut and Feb. 7. The total number of Ordinals transactions to date shows a steep „hockey stick“ curve, indicating NFT activity on Bitcoin has gone exponential.

Cost of Transaction

The sudden influx of JPEGs and other media files onto Bitcoin has consumed 526 megabytes (MB) of block space and cost creators 6.77 bitcoin (roughly $155,000 at the time of publication), according to the post.

Controversy Surrounding Transactions

The surging popularity of Ordinals has drawn the ire of prominent Bitcoiners such as Rene Pickhardt, who accused the Ordinals crowd of „spamming“ the most dominant blockchain with oversized JPEGs. When plotted out graphically, critics like Pickhardt have some data to back their view: Ordinals‘ share of total Bitcoin transactions barely cracked the 3% mark on Wednesday yet they consumed nearly 70%of blockspace.

Bitcoin Solutions

Solutions such as creating a Lightning Network in order to prevent these types from ’spamming‘ are being proposed by some members in order to provide more efficient ways for individuals to use Bitcoin’s block space without wasting it unnecessarily..

Future Prospects

Despite criticism, interest in NFTs is only continuing to grow which could open up new opportunities for artists and innovators looking to use this technology for creative projects or business ventures in the future.