First Ordinals Inscription
Casey Rodarmor inscribed Inscription #0, the first Ordinal on the Bitcoin blockchain. This sparked a new wave of NFT-like assets directly on Bitcoin, changing how people use the network.
This event is part of Bitcoin history — See the full Bitcoin timeline
Digital Artifacts on Bitcoin
On December 14, 2022, Casey Rodarmor created Inscription #0, the first Ordinal inscription on the Bitcoin blockchain. This marked the beginning of the Ordinals protocol, which allows users to embed arbitrary data (images, text, code) onto individual satoshis, creating unique digital artifacts directly on the Bitcoin network.
Unlike NFTs on other blockchains, Ordinals inscriptions exist entirely on the Bitcoin blockchain without requiring a separate token standard or smart contract. They leverage the Taproot upgrade's increased block space efficiency and SegWit's discount on witness data to store content directly in transactions.
Impact on Bitcoin
First Inscription
Inscription #0Creator
Casey RodarmorDate
December 14, 2022Total Inscriptions (2024)
60M+Protocol Type
On-chain digital artifactsOrdinals sparked a major debate in the Bitcoin community. Some celebrated it as a renaissance of Bitcoin's creative potential and a new fee market for miners. Others criticized it for clogging blocks with non-financial data. Regardless of perspective, Ordinals demonstrated Bitcoin's programmability in ways previously thought impossible.
