Bitcoin Ordinals hit more than 372k Inscriptions, with total fees reaching $7.6 million, data from Dune Analytics showed.
This is coupled with a daily average of 682,281 Bitcoin transactions, with network fees of 23 BTC each day, or almost $656,000.
The unprecedented surge is attributed to “Bitcoin Request for Comment” or BRC-20 tokens on the Ordinals protocol created by an anonymous on-chain analyst named Domo on March 8th, 2023.
As per the Bitcoin manual, the BRC-20 is an experimental fungible token that utilizes Ordinal inscriptions of JSON data to deploy token contracts, mint tokens, and transfer tokens.
Simply put, it’s a method for storing a script file in Bitcoin that can be used to associate tokens with satoshis and then permit those tokens to flow from one user to another.
Despite sharing the same name as Ethereum’s ERC-20 token standard, these tokens are not capable of interacting with smart contracts and their various rules.
“This [BRC-20] is not a token standard like you’re accustomed to with [Ethereum Virtual Machine] chains, which create smart contracts that manage the token standard and its various rules. Instead, it’s simply a way to store a script file in Bitcoin and use it to attribute tokens to satoshis and then allow them to be transferred between users,” as explained by Crypto exchange Binance in its blog.
The demand for “Bitcoin Request for Comment” tokens, which were created using Ordinals and held on the BTC base chain, has, on the other hand, skyrocketed, and their market value has too surged.
Bitcoin Request for Comment Tokens Market Value
According to data tracked by Ordinals-builder Ordspace, the combined market valuation of more than 8,800 BRC-20 tokens currently stands at $137 million, an astounding gain of 682% from $17.5 million just a week ago.
In addition, the excitement and FOMO surrounding ordinals have caused the market valuation of BRC-20 tokens to increase by over $100 million in less than 60 days since the “launch” of BRC-20.
The majority of BRC-20 tokens in circulation are under the category of meme coins, which are digital currencies inspired by internet memes or hilarious elements. ORDI, OG, and PEPE are now the top three coins produced following the BRC-20 standard.
The advent of BRC-20 tokens, according to Mark Jeffrey from Boolean Fund, has eliminated the need for cryptocurrency exchanges.