Since the start of the year, Bitcoin has witnessed a surge in interest. Indeed, the network has welcomed a new kind of protocol entitled Ordinals. In practice, this allows data to be linked to a satoshi via a process called Registration. This notably led to the creation of NFT on Bitcointhen BRC-20 tokens. However, according to the developer Luke Dashjrthese Ordinals are the result of a bug and not an intended feature and could be forced to disappear.
Ordinals on Bitcoin: Bug or feature?
Luke Dashjr is a developer of Bitcoin Core since 2011known for his sometimes divisive decision-making.
His last publication on X (Twitter) had the effect of a tidal wave. So, this one has Said Ordinals and BRC-20 Exploit Bitcoin Core Vulnerability to “Spam the Blockchain”.
He explained that Bitcoin Core’s code has allowed users to set limits on the size of additional data in transactions since 2013, but “by disguising their data as a program code, registrations circumvent this limit”.
“‘Signups’ exploit a vulnerability in Bitcoin Core to spam the blockchain. Since 2013, Bitcoin Core has allowed users to set a limit on the size of additional data in transactions they relay or mine (`-datacarriersize`). By obfuscating their data as program code, Inscriptions circumvent this limitation. »
He explains
Luke Dashjr spoils the Ordinals party
However, the party could soon end. Indeed, Luke Dashjr explained that bypassing this rule would no longer be possible in the latest Bitcoin Knots updatea derivative of Bitcoin Core.
“This bug was recently fixed in version 25.1 of Bitcoin Knots. This took longer than usual, as my workflow was severely disrupted late last year (v24 was skipped entirely). »
For its part, Bitcoin Core is still “vulnerable”, but the developer hopes that this will be corrected in the next version of the software.
“Bitcoin Core is still vulnerable in the upcoming v26 release. I can only hope that it would finally be fixed before version 27 next year. »
Is this the end of Ordinals?
An X user asked if Ordinals and BRC-20 tokens “would cease to exist” if the vulnerability was fixed. Dashjr answered in the affirmativewhile specifying that existing registrations would remain.
Fixing this “vulnerability” could have significant consequences on the Bitcoin ecosystem. Indeed, it could put an end to the creation of new Ordinals and BRC-20 tokens. While this would reduce congestion on Bitcoin, it will also cause dissension within the community. Now, it remains to be seen whether this correction will actually be implemented in the next version of Bitcoin Core.
This change in Bitcoin Core could also put obstacles in the way of other innovative projects. For example, BitVM which is also based on Ordinal Registrations.