Ordinals and BRC-20 Fill Bitcoin Blocks to 100%

The blockchain of the first cryptocurrency is experiencing the longest period of maximum block load, continuing since February. This is evidenced by data on the Dune Analytics dashboard.

Since the appearance of Ordinals, block space has been filling to nearly 100%.

By the end of August, the share of Bitcoin-NFT-related transactions in the network reached 85%. Since the protocol launch, 33.7 million inscriptions have been created, totaling 12.9 GB.

The Bitcoin mempool size has shown record values since May. As of September 21, the number of unconfirmed transactions stood at about 235,000 (246 MB), according to BTC.com.

According to journalist Colin Wu, the ongoing overload of the blockchain of the first cryptocurrency will further affect the time it takes to process low-fee transfers.

In May, Bitcoin Core developer Luke Dashjr proposed to implement a “spam filter” for BRC-20 tokens and Ordinals due to their negative impact on the network.

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin, by contrast, supported the protocol for launching Bitcoin NFTs, calling its emergence a return of the “creator culture” to the first cryptocurrency’s blockchain.