A Tumultuous August: Peaks and Valleys in Bitcoin’s Ordinal Inscription Saga
Statistics reveal a continued trend in the number of Ordinal inscriptions, which recently eclipsed the 23 million mark. The month of August, however, has experienced two notable dips, each registering fewer than 100,000 inscriptions per day. These low points in August occurred specifically on August 4 and August 8, 2023.
From Records to Recursive Ordinals
On August 11, 2023, the Bitcoin blockchain observed the number of Ordinal inscriptions exceeded 23 million. That particular day documented an impressive 252,653 inscriptions, representing more than half of the highest figure in August.
This apex transpired on August 6 as a remarkable 408,810 inscription records were engraved into the chain. This record-breaking feat on August 6 stands as the second-highest daily tally since the introduction of the Ordinal inscription trend.
Since Ordinals’ inception in December 2022, bitcoin (BTC) miners accumulated a total of 1,902.58 BTC from inscriptions, equating to over $55 million in value. Miners experienced fluctuating daily returns in August, ranging from 1.3 BTC to just above 4 BTC due to inscriptions.
A noteworthy 72.3% of all Ordinal inscriptions utilize the “text/plain;charset=utf-8” format, whereas 20.9% conform to “text/plain” encoding. The remaining inscriptions — 6.8% — consist of various files such as PNG, JSON, webp, SVG, JPEG, HTML, GIF, mp4, mpeg, avif, javascript, pdf, PGP signature, midi, and wav.
For example, August 12 witnessed a total of 279,231 inscriptions added to the Bitcoin blockchain; among these were text-formatted files (277,180), images (546), applications (1,500), and five classified as “other,” according to Dune Analytics metrics. Furthermore, data dashboard creators @dgtl_assets also emphasize the presence of recursive Ordinals.
Introducing composability and the capacity to invoke other inscriptions’ content using a unique syntax, recursive Ordinals have significantly impacted the technology. A total of 138,365 recursive Ordinals have been engraved onto the Bitcoin blockchain thus far. With many in text format and a smaller number inscribed in image format.
Non-fungible token (NFT) sales statistics demonstrate 170,165 distinct addresses have traded $300,066,361 in value over 682,047 Ordinal transactions. These transactions took place on marketplaces including Okx, Unisat, Magic Eden, Gamma, Open Ordex, Ordinals Wallet, Ordswap, Ordinals Market and Ordinals Market bt.
However, Bitcoin’s standing in the NFT sales market has significantly declined; out of 21 unique blockchain networks, Bitcoin now ranks seventh in sales over the past week. This trend is consistent with the 30-day sales ranking, where Bitcoin also holds the seventh position.
Once a formidable contender, claiming the second-place spot, Bitcoin has since been overshadowed. In the past month, chains such as Solana, BNB, Polygon, Mythos, and Immutable X have managed to outshine Bitcoin, reflecting a shift in the marketplace.
What do you think about the trend of Ordinal inscriptions? Share your thoughts and opinions about this subject in the comments section below.
