Developers behind the Bitcoin Ordinals protocol have rolled out a new upgrade that aims to cure over 71,000 invalid or \u201ccursed\u201d inscriptions \u2014 allowing them to be traded.<\/p>\n
\u201cCursed inscriptions\u201d was the name given to inscriptions that were created by incorrect use or intentional misuse of opcodes to create inscriptions, which led to them becoming invalid and unrecognized.<\/p>\n
On June 4, developers, including Twitter user Raphjaph, revealed the Ordinals protocol was upgraded to version 0.6.0, which would be the first step in indexing the previously unrecognized inscriptions.<\/p>\n
The\u00a0proposal\u00a0to fix the issue was first\u00a0s made in late April by Ordinals creator Casey Rodarmor to recognize these cursed inscriptions and convert them to \u201cblessed\u201d ones.<\/p>\n
The upgrade introduced support for a subset of the different types of cursed inscriptions. It does this by setting a block activation height where specific types of previously invalid inscriptions would start being indexed as normal positive inscriptions.<\/p>\n
Ordinals influencer LeonidasNFT explained that these would be added to the list of tradable indexed Ordinals, stating:<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is important because over 70k existing but invalid inscriptions are now supported which means that once marketplaces upgrade to v0.6.0 you will be able to start trading them.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
He added that everyone holding cursed inscriptions \u201cshould expect the negative inscription numbers to be shifted.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bitcoin Ordinals are nonfungible asset artifacts that enable inscribing data onto the smallest division of a Bitcoin, a satoshi.<\/p>\n
The protocol was launched in January by Casey Rodarmor, and the following month saw the inscription hype take off as thousands of them were imprinted on the Bitcoin blockchain, causing congestion and spikes in transaction fees.<\/p>\n
Ordinals inscriptions have been considered similar to NFTs regarding rarity and collectability. Users are after a unique slice of data permanently etched onto the Bitcoin blockchain so these early or converted inscriptions on satoshis could become valuable at a later period.<\/p>\n