Bitcoin's Average Block Size Hits All-Time Highs

blockchain.news:

Because to the introduction of the nonfungible tokens (NFTs) protocol Ordinals in January 2023, the average size of a Bitcoin block has surpassed 2.5 megabytes (MB) for the first time since the cryptocurrency's foundation in 2009. This marks a new all-time high for the cryptocurrency.

According to statistics obtained from Blockchain.com, the size of Bitcoin blocks increased by more than 2 MB in the weeks after the debut of the Ordinals Protocol. This surge in block size can be traced back to the beginning of February 2023.

Software developer Casey Rodarmor introduced the Ordinals protocol in the month of January. This protocol makes it possible for users of the Bitcoin network to create «digital artifacts.» These may include JPEG photographs, PDF documents, as well as audio and video files.

In the documentation for Ordinals, Rodarmor explains that each of these digital objects may be inscribed to a single satoshi, which is one of the component parts of a Bitcoin. The value of one bitcoin is equal to 100,000,000 satoshis.

Individual satoshis have the ability to be imprinted with any kind of data, allowing for the creation of one-of-a-kind digital artifacts that are original to Bitcoin. These artifacts may be stored in bitcoin wallets and moved via bitcoin transactions. The permanence, immutability, security, and decentralization of inscriptions are on par with those of Bitcoin itself.

The Bitcoin community is split on the issue of whether or not it should be possible to engrave digital items into the blockchain, and the reasons both for and against the proposal provide plenty of material for reflection. The greater use of block space for the inscription of several Ordinals has emerged as one of the primary