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Deepti Sri · · 6 min readCake DeFi founder bets on Bitcoin NFTs with decentralized marketplace
Bitcoin NFTs, known as Ordinals, have ignited a fervent debate in the crypto sphere, particularly within the Bitcoin community itself.
Advocates of the newest breed of NFTs have contended that it holds promise for the advancement of the broader Bitcoin ecosystem, while detractors have dismissed it as mere spam.
Placing a bold wager on the potential of Ordinals, Cake DeFi founder U-Zyn Chua has rolled out Ordzaar, a fully decentralized marketplace for trading these NFTs.
U-Zyn Chua, lead researcher at Ordzaar / Photo credit: Ordzaar
The launch of Chua’s new venture comes amid a surge in sales of Ordinals, which hit nearly US$30 million over the past month, according to data from CryptoSlam.
Their popularity has also disrupted the usual dominance of Ethereum-based NFTs in the top 10 collections.
Surprisingly, even the esteemed Mutant Ape Yacht Club (MAYC), a sister collection of the popular Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC), couldn’t hold its ground against the rise of Bitcoin NFTs in sales over the past week.
Ordinals 101
On January 21, 2023, Casey Rodarmor, a Bitcoin Core contributor and software engineer, launched the Ordinals protocol on the Bitcoin mainnet.
This protocol allows users to inscribe digital media – such as videos, images, and text – directly on a satoshi, the smallest unit of a bitcoin. Since one bitcoin is made up of 100 million satoshis, this development has opened up the possibility of creating NFTs on the Bitcoin network.
Supporters of Ordinals within the Bitcoin community argue that these NFTs have the potential to expand the financial use cases of Bitcoin and generate increased demand for block space.
Photo credit: Ordzaar
Meanwhile, others say that Bitcoin NFTs have contributed to the recent spike in transaction fees.
Bitcoin’s core principle was to have no transaction fees in the system. As such, some Bitcoin proponents are concerned about the recent rise in fees, as it diverges from the original ethos. They argue that marginalized individuals in developing countries will be disproportionately affected, while privileged individuals use the blockchain for digital artwork, seen by some as status symbols.
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U-Zyn Chua launches a decentralized marketplace for Ordinals amid surging sales, challenging the dominance of Ethereum-based NFTs.
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