Are Ordinals and BRC-20 garbage data or a reflection of creative freedom? An article clarifying both sides of the argument

Since its creation in January 2023, the Ordinals protocol has been met with both growing market enthusiasm and a series of cheers and criticisms from supporters and opponents. Some express support and recognition for its ability to enhance the scalability of the Bitcoin network and enable more applications, while others are concerned about the rising transaction fees and increasingly sluggish network speed, viewing them as unnecessary junk data.

Different perspectives will shape varying opinions and arguments. Developers in the ecosystem believe that Ordinals sacrifices the network quality for other users, while miners advocate for it as a means to profit from a more active network. Below are the views of different roles in the Bitcoin ecosystem on Ordinals and BRC-20.

Developers: Ordinals Technology Untested, Contrary to Bitcoin Philosophy

According to Cointelegraph, Enrico Rubboli, CEO of Mintlayer, a Bitcoin sidechain developer, pointed out that the technology and ecosystem behind Ordinals are unrelated to the Bitcoin network itself, hence untested and with serious security concerns. He believes that Ordinals might draw government attention and scrutiny to Bitcoin, as BRC-20 tokens could be seen as unregulated securities.

Enrico Rubboli also claimed that using the Ordinals protocol poses significant risks in terms of application security, making it vulnerable to fraud and attacks.

For opponents, creating new applications like Ordinals on the Bitcoin network goes against the original ethos of Bitcoin as a "peer-to-peer electronic cash system."

Miners: Ordinals Unleashing New Value for Bitcoin

Li Qingfei, the marketing director of major Bitcoin mining pool F2Pool, stated that the network congestion caused by the Ordinals and BRC-20 craze is a temporary issue, and solutions like the Lightning Network will improve the current Bitcoin network environment.

Bitcoin observer BitPaine explained:

The ability to post uncensored messages on the Bitcoin network effectively defends borderless freedom of speech.

Many supporters agree that Ordinals bring freedom of creative expression in text and imagery, sparking changes in the Bitcoin blockchain and generating new ideas and applications.

Bitcoin Ordinals Trading Heat Decreases

Despite the ongoing support and opposition surrounding Ordinals, the trading heat of Bitcoin Ordinals itself seems to be decreasing in various markets. According to on-chain data from Dune, the total trading volume in the Ordinals market reached an unprecedented high of 18.14 million on May 8, then shrunk by 30% the next day (9), dropping to 4.86 million on the 11th, only 26% compared to the 8th. The number of transactions also decreased from 17,000 four days ago to 7,000.

Moreover, in terms of market share, the leading Ordinals trading market UniSat, which was far ahead with 80-90% a week ago, has dwindled to around 50% in the past three days.