The developers behind the Bitcoin Ordinals protocol have made an important upgrade to address over 71,000 problematic inscriptions known as “cursed inscriptions.” These inscriptions were invalidated due to incorrect usage or intentional manipulation of opcodes during creation.
Raphjaph, along with a team of developers, unveiled version 0.6.0 of the Ordinals protocol on June 4th, marking a significant milestone in the cataloging of previously unrecognized inscriptions.
The upgrade aims to convert these cursed inscriptions into functional and tradeable assets. Ordinals creator Casey Rodarmor initially proposed a solution to this issue in April, advocating for the recognition and conversion of cursed inscriptions into “blessed” ones.
The latest upgrade focuses on supporting specific types of cursed inscriptions by establishing a block activation height. This height triggers the indexing of previously invalid inscriptions as normal positive inscriptions, ensuring their tradeability.
Bitcoin Ordinals are unique nonfungible assets that allow users to inscribe data onto the smallest unit of Bitcoin, the satoshi.
Since its launch in January 2023 by Casey Rodarmor, the popularity of inscriptions has surged, resulting in congestion on the Bitcoin blockchain and spikes in transaction fees. Ordinal inscriptions have been hyped for their rarity and collectability, comparable to NFTs.
Users seek distinctive slices of data permanently etched onto the Bitcoin blockchain, making these early or converted inscriptions on satoshis potentially valuable in the future.
According to Dune Analytics, the influx of 10.8 million ordinal inscriptions has generated an impressive $45.5 million in transaction fees since the trend gained momentum earlier this year.
In May, protocol founder Casey Rodarmor announced his departure, entrusting the protocol’s future to Raphjaph who spearheaded the recent upgrade.
Compiled by Coinbold