A Beginner’s Guide to Bitcoin Ordinals | by Cryptoverse Insight | The Capital | Jan, 2025

Bitcoin Ordinals are a unique way of creating digital assets on the Bitcoin blockchain. They work by attaching data, like images or files, to individual satoshis, the smallest unit of bitcoin (1 BTC = 100 million satoshis). Each satoshi is assigned a serial number based on the order it was mined, known as an ordinal. Using the Ordinals protocol, this data attachment process creates unique and scarce digital assets, similar to non-fungible tokens (NFTs), but with the added security and decentralization of Bitcoin’s blockchain. This innovation became possible with the launch of the Ordinals software on Bitcoin’s mainnet in January 2023.

The Ordinals protocol uses „inscriptions“ to attach data to satoshis. These inscriptions are written directly onto the Bitcoin blockchain, ensuring the assets benefit from Bitcoin’s security and immutability. Since each satoshi has a serial number, the protocol can track its ownership and location on the network. This method allows Bitcoin Ordinals to inherit all the reliability and durability of the Bitcoin blockchain.