*OG posted as twitter threads, will hyperlink @ the end. BC of this, most hyperlinks link out to official twitter accounts, not websites*
Everything you want & need to know to enter the Ordinal Ecosystem.
The Ordinal Protocol was Launched by Casey Rodarmor ( twitter @rodarmor) on Jan 21 2023.
We are early, you are early, and all of this is expanding as we speak. When the protocol first launched, to interact with it you needed to run your own BTC note... this is no longer the case While you may have heard ordinal inscriptions are "BTC NFTS", the correct term would be "Digital Artifacts" on BTC. Why did it take BTC SOOO LONG? BTC completed an upgrade called the TapRoot upgraded in 2021. These changes made Ordinals possible. This is not technically true but it did allow for more Blockspace... A few BTC/Basics before we get into Ordinal Inscriptions:
🔸 There are 100 million Satoshi's (Sats) In Each Bitcoin. 🔸 Bitcoin blocks are capped at 4MB
🔸 Blocks process about every 10 minutes, so ordinals are limited 400-500M inscriptions per year
🔸 Ordinal Theory Ordinal Theory:
has been discussed during many points in BTC's history, It is the theory that Ordinal Inscriptions is based on. Both Ordinal Theory & the resulting tools for inscriptions are all
🔸 community created
🔸 open source
🔸 separate from the BTC protocol itself.
Ordinal Theory defines Ordinals as a numbering scheme for Satoshi's
🔸Ordinals are assigned to Each sat as they are mined
🔸 This allows for that allows tracking and transferring individual sats
🔸 Proposes rarity for Sats.
(from Ordinal docs) - https://docs.ordinals.com/
Now its time to get into Ordinal Inscriptions .....
Ordinal Inscriptions are:
🔸 100% on Chain
🔸 Immutable
🔸 As Secure as Bitcoin
🔸 Scarce (there can only be as many ordinals as Satoshis)
🔸 Limited by block space Each Sat is numbered via Ordinal theory. Ordinal Inscriptions are created when you add (inscribe) additional data to each Sats:
🔸 Images
🔸 Text
🔸 any file under 4MB This Data is stored within the Witness Data of the Transaction, meaning your inscription will forever be a part of BTC. (you can see this on ANY transaction on @mempool - BTC's block explorer)
This is how Ordinal inscriptions ARE on chain, despite being a new protocol There are new tools being added daily to help index this information in a way that you can see it, (bc this is a new way to use witness data) (and we will learn how to interpret it further down) INDEXERS:
Besides the wallets & marketplaces I mention below, some indexers include:
🔸 ordinals (dot) com
🔸 Ordiscan (dot) com
🔸 @bestinslotxyz WALLETS:
To interact w/ Ordinals, you will need an ordinal friendly wallet:
You may want to set up and fund all three - thats because they are all different, and sometimes sites are slow to integrate all of them. This also means - ⚠️ NOT ALL OF THEM ARE COMPATIBLE ⚠️ ie. your xverse seed phrase wont work with Hiro. .@xverse and @hirowallet will have a separate BTC receiving address & ordinals receiving addresses 🟧 TAPROOT ADDRESSES START W/ bc1 (ORDINALS) 🟠 BTC ADDRESSES START w/ 1, 2, or 3 I show this in my xverse video (next tweet) How to set up an Xverse wallet :
https://twitter.com/JENFTEACH/status/1640921457281863681 - og tweet How to set up a UNISAT WALLET (one receiving address for BTC & Ordinals) :
https://twitter.com/JENFTEACH/status/1661937481980481537 - OG TWEET INSCRIBING
The easiest way to inscribe Ordinals w/ no code is via @trygamma.
https://twitter.com/JENFTEACH/status/1660138675659997185 - OG tweet MARKETPLACES
Where to Find, buy and sell Ordinals?
There are many marketplaces including:
✍️ There are no smart contracts on BTC so transactions rely on PSBT (partially signed bitcoin transactions) PSBT's allow for multiple parties to interact w/ a transaction in a trustless way.
DONT TRUST, VERIFY
Now that we have covered the History, the basics & inscribing... How do you VERIFY (not trust) that they are real? 🧵
In Part 1, we learned that inscription data is saved in Witness data of transactions (also that pic was a random transaction, not an inscription)
If all the ordinal inscription indexers went down, finding your Ordinal Inscriptions would still be possible...
This Data is stored within the Witness Data of the Transaction, meaning your inscription will forever be a part of BTC. (you can see this on ANY transaction on @mempool - BTC's block explorer) This is how Ordinal inscriptions ARE on chain, despite being a new protocol
DECODING WITNESS DATA
Text inscriptions are a much easier process than image / other types of Data
⌘: You can simply paste witness data into a HEX to TEXT converter
To use witness data to find an image the process is a bit more complicated... but still possible without coding * You may never need to do this - I just like to Verify everything *
Also huge shoutout to @ordinalenjoyer for helping me learn this - Please follow him!
OG tweet /video -
If I never need to do this why should I know this?
Dont trust, verify.
Even if the maxis vow to destroy ordinals, you can now prove w/ confidence
Ordinal inscriptions are as secure as the BTC blockchain itself
also right click saving does not mean its yours, but good try ;)
Now that we can VERIFY our Ordinal Inscriptions how can we trust a purchase / marketplace / trade / transfer without smart contracts?
PARTIALLY SIGNED BITCOIN TRANSACTIONS
Partially ✍️ Signed ✍️ Bitcoin ✍️ Transactions PSBT's were introduced in 2017 as v0 via BIP174 BIP's = Bitcoin Improvement Proposals
BIP174 is a part of BTC core, & there have been additional drafted proposals following...
TLDR, PSBT's have been widely used prior to Ordinal Inscriptions, seen in:
🔸 Multi-Sig's
🔸 Coinjoin TXNS
🔸 Hardware wallets
So what does this look like when you are transacting with your Ordinal Inscriptions? Below is a diagram from @MagicEden's Github Repo.
The next tweet will show you how to LIST something on Magic Eden.
Going through the actions will feel similar to other blockchain interactions, with a few nuances, see the process here:
If you are coming from other chains.... THERE ARE NO SECONDARY SALES ROYALTIES FOR ORDINALS. (so we can save the time on that debate)
Now you can verify your ordinal inscriptions are real, & are beginning to understand how to interact with them, can inscribe and sell them, what are you waiting for!!!! PLEASE ASK ME ANY QUESTIONS. ALSO EDU WILL ALWAYS BE FREE, youtube subs, social media follows and shares go a long way!
If you want to donate (to help fund transactions & time)
jenfteach.eth
BTC addy - 371JVWctx8gWtqsrMEicjBrg3aQJKbZNQ7
OG TWITTER THREADS: