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Blockchain General

Bitcoin Ordinals

A protocol created by Casey Rodarmor in January 2023 that assigns a unique serial number (ordinal) to each individual satoshi based on mining order, enabling satoshis to carry arbitrary data (inscriptions) stored in Taproot witness data. Inscriptions can contain images, text, HTML, or other media up to the ~4 MB block weight limit, creating non-fungible digital artifacts natively on Bitcoin. Over 63 million inscriptions were created by early 2024.

IDbitcoin-ordinalsAliasOrdinalsAliasInscriptions
Plain meaning

Plain meaning

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A protocol created by Casey Rodarmor in January 2023 that assigns a unique serial number (ordinal) to each individual satoshi based on mining order, enabling satoshis to carry arbitrary data (inscriptions) stored in Taproot witness data. Inscriptions can contain images, text, HTML, or other media up to the ~4 MB block weight limit, creating non-fungible digital artifacts natively on Bitcoin. Over 63 million inscriptions were created by early 2024.

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Shared crypto concepts that frame the broader ecosystem.

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Bitcoin Ordinals (bitcoin-ordinals)
Category: Blockchain General
Definition: A protocol created by Casey Rodarmor in January 2023 that assigns a unique serial number (ordinal) to each individual satoshi based on mining order, enabling satoshis to carry arbitrary data (inscriptions) stored in Taproot witness data. Inscriptions can contain images, text, HTML, or other media up to the ~4 MB block weight limit, creating non-fungible digital artifacts natively on Bitcoin. Over 63 million inscriptions were created by early 2024.
Aliases: Ordinals, Inscriptions
Related: Bitcoin, Taproot, Satoshi, BRC-20
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Branch

Bitcoin

The first decentralized cryptocurrency network, launched in 2009 by the pseudonymous Satoshi Nakamoto, using a Proof-of-Work consensus mechanism and a UTXO-based transaction model. Bitcoin's protocol enforces a fixed supply cap of 21 million BTC, with new coins issued through mining block rewards that halve approximately every four years. It serves as both a peer-to-peer electronic cash system and a store of value, with its scripting language enabling basic programmability such as multisig and timelocks.

Proof of Work (PoW)UTXO Model
Open term
Branch

Taproot

A Bitcoin soft fork activated in November 2021 (BIPs 340-342) introducing Schnorr signatures for efficient key/signature aggregation, MAST (Merkelized Abstract Syntax Trees) for committing complex spending conditions where only the exercised branch is revealed on-chain, and Tapscript extending Bitcoin Script with new opcodes. Taproot makes complex transactions (multisig, timelocks, conditional spending) indistinguishable from simple single-key transactions, improving privacy and efficiency.

SegWit (Segregated Witness)Bitcoin Script
Open term
Branch

Satoshi

The smallest indivisible unit of Bitcoin, equal to 0.00000001 BTC (one hundred-millionth of a bitcoin), named after Bitcoin's pseudonymous creator Satoshi Nakamoto. All Bitcoin amounts are internally represented as integer counts of satoshis, avoiding floating-point precision issues. The Ordinals protocol assigns unique serial numbers to individual satoshis, enabling them to carry inscribed data.

Open term
Branch

BRC-20

An experimental fungible token standard on Bitcoin using Ordinals inscriptions in JSON format to deploy, mint, and transfer tokens. BRC-20 tokens store state in inscription data and require off-chain indexers to track balances, as Bitcoin has no native token state concept. The standard gained significant adoption in 2023-2024 but creates excessive junk UTXOs, leading to the development of the UTXO-native Runes protocol as an alternative.

Runes
Open term
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Blockchain General

Bitcoin

The first decentralized cryptocurrency network, launched in 2009 by the pseudonymous Satoshi Nakamoto, using a Proof-of-Work consensus mechanism and a UTXO-based transaction model. Bitcoin's protocol enforces a fixed supply cap of 21 million BTC, with new coins issued through mining block rewards that halve approximately every four years. It serves as both a peer-to-peer electronic cash system and a store of value, with its scripting language enabling basic programmability such as multisig and timelocks.

Open term
Blockchain General

Taproot

A Bitcoin soft fork activated in November 2021 (BIPs 340-342) introducing Schnorr signatures for efficient key/signature aggregation, MAST (Merkelized Abstract Syntax Trees) for committing complex spending conditions where only the exercised branch is revealed on-chain, and Tapscript extending Bitcoin Script with new opcodes. Taproot makes complex transactions (multisig, timelocks, conditional spending) indistinguishable from simple single-key transactions, improving privacy and efficiency.

Open term
Blockchain General

Satoshi

The smallest indivisible unit of Bitcoin, equal to 0.00000001 BTC (one hundred-millionth of a bitcoin), named after Bitcoin's pseudonymous creator Satoshi Nakamoto. All Bitcoin amounts are internally represented as integer counts of satoshis, avoiding floating-point precision issues. The Ordinals protocol assigns unique serial numbers to individual satoshis, enabling them to carry inscribed data.

Open term
Blockchain General

BRC-20

An experimental fungible token standard on Bitcoin using Ordinals inscriptions in JSON format to deploy, mint, and transfer tokens. BRC-20 tokens store state in inscription data and require off-chain indexers to track balances, as Bitcoin has no native token state concept. The standard gained significant adoption in 2023-2024 but creates excessive junk UTXOs, leading to the development of the UTXO-native Runes protocol as an alternative.

Open term
Commonly confused with

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Blockchain Generalbitcoin

Bitcoin

The first decentralized cryptocurrency network, launched in 2009 by the pseudonymous Satoshi Nakamoto, using a Proof-of-Work consensus mechanism and a UTXO-based transaction model. Bitcoin's protocol enforces a fixed supply cap of 21 million BTC, with new coins issued through mining block rewards that halve approximately every four years. It serves as both a peer-to-peer electronic cash system and a store of value, with its scripting language enabling basic programmability such as multisig and timelocks.

AliasBTC
Open term
Blockchain Generalbitcoin-layer-2

Bitcoin Layer 2

Scaling and programmability solutions built on top of Bitcoin's base layer that extend its functionality while inheriting some degree of Bitcoin's security. Major approaches include the Lightning Network (payment channels), Stacks (smart contracts via Proof of Transfer), Liquid Network (Blockstream's federated sidechain), and ZK-rollups like Citrea (using BitVM for settlement). These solutions address Bitcoin's limited throughput (~7 TPS) and restricted scripting.

AliasBitcoin L2
Open term
Blockchain Generalbitcoin-halving

Bitcoin Halving

A programmatic event occurring every 210,000 blocks (~4 years) that reduces the Bitcoin block reward by 50%, enforcing a disinflationary monetary policy converging on the 21 million BTC supply cap. The most recent halving occurred on April 20, 2024 (block 840,000), reducing the reward from 6.25 to 3.125 BTC per block. Halvings shift miner revenue composition toward transaction fees and have historically correlated with bull market cycles.

AliasHalvening
Open term
Related terms

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Blockchain Generalbitcoin

Bitcoin

The first decentralized cryptocurrency network, launched in 2009 by the pseudonymous Satoshi Nakamoto, using a Proof-of-Work consensus mechanism and a UTXO-based transaction model. Bitcoin's protocol enforces a fixed supply cap of 21 million BTC, with new coins issued through mining block rewards that halve approximately every four years. It serves as both a peer-to-peer electronic cash system and a store of value, with its scripting language enabling basic programmability such as multisig and timelocks.

Open term
Blockchain Generaltaproot

Taproot

A Bitcoin soft fork activated in November 2021 (BIPs 340-342) introducing Schnorr signatures for efficient key/signature aggregation, MAST (Merkelized Abstract Syntax Trees) for committing complex spending conditions where only the exercised branch is revealed on-chain, and Tapscript extending Bitcoin Script with new opcodes. Taproot makes complex transactions (multisig, timelocks, conditional spending) indistinguishable from simple single-key transactions, improving privacy and efficiency.

Open term
Blockchain Generalsatoshi-unit

Satoshi

The smallest indivisible unit of Bitcoin, equal to 0.00000001 BTC (one hundred-millionth of a bitcoin), named after Bitcoin's pseudonymous creator Satoshi Nakamoto. All Bitcoin amounts are internally represented as integer counts of satoshis, avoiding floating-point precision issues. The Ordinals protocol assigns unique serial numbers to individual satoshis, enabling them to carry inscribed data.

Open term
Blockchain Generalbrc-20

BRC-20

An experimental fungible token standard on Bitcoin using Ordinals inscriptions in JSON format to deploy, mint, and transfer tokens. BRC-20 tokens store state in inscription data and require off-chain indexers to track balances, as Bitcoin has no native token state concept. The standard gained significant adoption in 2023-2024 but creates excessive junk UTXOs, leading to the development of the UTXO-native Runes protocol as an alternative.

Open term
Blockchain Generalrunes-protocol

Runes

A Bitcoin fungible token protocol created by Casey Rodarmor that launched at block 840,000 on April 20, 2024, coinciding with the fourth Bitcoin halving. Unlike BRC-20, Runes is UTXO-native, using OP_RETURN to store token data directly in transaction outputs without creating junk UTXOs. The protocol allows multiple token transfers in a single transaction and briefly accounted for over 80% of Bitcoin transactions in its first days.

Open term
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Blockchain General

Blockchain

A distributed, append-only ledger that records transactions in cryptographically linked blocks. Each block contains a hash of the previous block, forming an immutable chain. Nodes in the network maintain copies of the ledger and reach agreement through consensus mechanisms. Blockchains enable trustless, decentralized record-keeping without a central authority.

Open term
Blockchain General

Consensus Mechanism

The protocol by which nodes in a distributed network agree on the current state of the ledger. Common mechanisms include Proof of Work (Bitcoin), Proof of Stake (Ethereum, Solana), and BFT variants. Consensus ensures all honest nodes converge on the same transaction history despite potential network delays or malicious actors.

Open term
Blockchain General

Proof of Stake (PoS)

A consensus mechanism where validators are selected to produce blocks based on the amount of cryptocurrency they have staked (locked) as collateral. PoS is energy-efficient compared to Proof of Work. Misbehaving validators risk losing their stake (slashing). Solana, Ethereum (post-Merge), Cosmos, and Cardano use PoS variants.

Open term
Blockchain General

Proof of Work (PoW)

A consensus mechanism where miners compete to solve computationally expensive puzzles to produce blocks and earn rewards. PoW provides strong security (51% attack resistance) but is energy-intensive. Bitcoin and pre-Merge Ethereum use PoW. The difficulty adjusts to maintain target block times regardless of total network hash power.

Open term