According to CryptoPotato, the total count of minted Bitcoin Ordinals Inscriptions has reached a new record, coinciding with the second anniversary of the activation of the Bitcoin upgrade, Taproot. Data compiled by Dune Analytics shows that the number of Bitcoin Ordinals Inscriptions minted surged to 505,000, primarily driven by BRC-20. This increase has pushed the overall number of Bitcoin Inscriptions to surpass 40 million as of November 12th.
Atomical attracted over 28,000 mintings on November 14th, with a substantial fee payment of 2.63 BTC. This fee amount ranks second only to the protocol's launch on September 23. The surge in minting activity is predominantly attributed to the creation of the meme token DMINT following the official release of documentation for the dmint update. Ordinal Inscriptions, similar to NFTs, represent digital assets engraved on a satoshi, the smallest unit of Bitcoin (BTC). The ability to inscribe on satoshis was made possible with the introduction of the Taproot upgrade, which was implemented on the Bitcoin network exactly two years ago.
The resurgence of the Ordinals has triggered a massive surge in Bitcoin fees, which increased to the highest level since the meme coin mania this past May. Earlier this week, the average Bitcoin fee spiked to $15.86. Critics argue that the emergence of these Bitcoin-linked NFTs is abusing the network. However, Ordinals developer Casey Rodarmor countered that such accusations are baseless. Furthermore, the resurgence of Ordinals has benefited bitcoin miners, with blockchain transaction fees now contributing nearly 8.5% of their revenue, according to a report by asset manager 21Shares.