Ordinal inscription and BRC20 marketplaces
Ordinal inscriptions and the emerging marketplaces dedicated to them represent an innovative development within the Bitcoin ecosystem, particularly influencing how digital assets and collectibles are perceived, traded, and valued.
Since the introduction of Ordinals and Inscriptions, there has been a shift in the number of transactions included in BTC blocks. Utilizing Segwit space has led to a nearly 50% increase in the average number of transactions per block. Initially, transactions mainly revolved around financial purposes, but starting from January 2023, we’ve seen a rise in text and image-based inscription transactions as well.
The following chart illustrates the various applications of different ordinal types. Since the introduction of the BRC20 standard, it has emerged as the preferred option for inscriptions, outpacing all other NFT formats. This suggests a significant preference for BRC20 tokens over other NFT types.
Several marketplaces have emerged as key platforms for trading BRC-20 tokens and ordinal inscriptions, each with its unique features and offerings. Some of them are:
- Magic Eden: Known for its significant daily trading volume and support for multiple blockchains including Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, and Polygon. It’s particularly appreciated for its seamless integration with Bitcoin Ordinals, offering a wide range of digital assets.
- Binance: A centralized cryptocurrency exchange that has listed BRC-20 tokens, including ORDI, offering various trading pairs such as BTC, USDT, and TUSD. In addition to that, Binance launched inscription marketplace.
- OKX Ordinals Market: A peer-to-peer marketplace that supports trading of BRC-20 tokens. It also allows users to inscribe their own BRC-20 tokens and Bitcoin Ordinals.
- Unisat: A peer-to-peer marketplace with support for a wide variety of BRC-20 tokens. Like OKX it allows users to inscribe their own tokens and ordinals.
Alongside BRC-20, a range of new standards is continuously being developed, all with the goal of integrating decentralized finance (DeFi) into the Bitcoin ecosystem. These emerging standards utilize the concept of inscriptions, introducing unique functionalities and enhancements with each iteration.
What This Means for You
For users and investors, the growth of DeFi on Bitcoin represents an exciting frontier. It offers the promise of decentralized finance coupled with the security and robustness of the Bitcoin network. Whether you’re looking to lend, borrow, or trade assets, Bitcoin’s DeFi ecosystem is beginning to offer compelling alternatives to traditional financial systems and even existing DeFi platforms.