The Rise of Bitcoin Inscriptions: From Technological Innovation to Market Reality

Explosive Growth of the Inscription Coin Market

According to authoritative data, by the end of 2023, the transaction volume of NFTs based on Bitcoin technology has reached $1.84 billion, ranking fourth among various blockchains, only behind Ethereum, Solana, and Ronin. This achievement is not accidental but results from a series of technological innovations and market mechanism perfecting. Especially when mainstream exchanges began supporting Inscription Coin trading, the entire ecosystem reached a turning point. Compared to the high-cost transactions relying on decentralized exchanges in the past, the participation of large trading platforms significantly reduced transaction costs and improved efficiency, allowing Inscription Coins to quickly move from marginal applications to the market center.

Technical Foundations of Bitcoin Inscription

To understand the essence of Inscription Coins, it is first necessary to understand Bitcoin’s basic architecture and the innovative significance of the Ordinals protocol. The total supply of Bitcoin is 21 million units, each composed of 100 million satoshis, so the entire network contains 2,100 trillion satoshis. Before the launch of the Ordinals protocol, these satoshis were indistinguishable—they could be exchanged interchangeably (fungible).

The Ordinals protocol was officially launched on December 14, 2022. Its core innovation is assigning a unique number to each satoshi. This simple yet profound change endows originally fungible satoshis with uniqueness. When users write information—whether images, text, or code (up to 4MB)—on a specific satoshi, that satoshi becomes a one-of-a-kind digital asset. This written information is called a “meme,” and the act of executing this process is “inscription minting.”

An intuitive analogy: imagine two banknotes of the same denomination, legally interchangeable; but if one is signed or marked by a famous person, its value immediately surpasses the other. Inscription Coins embody this principle on the blockchain—by engraving specific information, fungible Bitcoin units are transformed into non-fungible digital assets, essentially issuing NFTs and tokens on the Bitcoin main chain.

Three Major Technological Events Driving Inscription Coin Development

The birth of Inscription Coins was not achieved overnight. The Taproot upgrade in November 2022 made significant improvements to Bitcoin, enabling large-scale scaling and attracting many developers into the Bitcoin ecosystem. Subsequently, the launch of the Ordinals protocol (December 2022) provided the technical foundation. But what truly accelerated the development of Inscription Coins was the emergence of the BRC-20 protocol in March 2023.

If the Ordinals protocol is like a machine tool capable of processing parts, then the BRC-20 protocol is like a factory system that provides assembly and delivery of complete products. The BRC-20 protocol greatly simplified the process of issuing tokens on Bitcoin, making the creation of Inscription Coins more convenient. Since then, development of Bitcoin Inscription and other applications has entered a rapid growth phase.

Why Bitcoin Became the Choice for Inscription Coins

Compared to Ethereum’s earlier start and more mature technical foundation in smart contracts and on-chain application development, the rapid rise of Bitcoin Inscription Coins mainly stems from differences in market recognition. In the blockchain space, a sense of recognition correlates positively with value. As the most recognized digital asset in the market, Bitcoin’s “brand effect” is unparalleled. This recognition advantage translates into support and enthusiasm for Inscription Coin projects, quickly attracting market attention.

Additionally, in early 2023, the first wave of Inscription Coin popularity gradually increased, and subsequent support from mainstream exchanges provided liquidity and compliance assurance, thoroughly changing the previous situation where Inscription Coins could only be traded inefficiently on decentralized exchanges.

How Retail Investors Can Participate in Inscription Coin Minting

For retail investors interested in creating Inscription Coins, the process is relatively simple and straightforward:

Step 1: Prepare a cryptocurrency wallet (such as a Web3 wallet) and deposit enough BTC

Step 2: Enter the wallet’s inscription minting feature, select “BRC-20” type and “Mint” operation

Step 3: Enter the four-character token code (the symbol of the Inscription Coin), minting amount, and recipient address

Step 4: Pay the minting fee and complete the transaction

It is important to note that Inscription Coins are fundamentally different from NFTs. Inscription Coins are fungible assets with divisibility, suitable for tokens, stablecoins, and similar scenarios; whereas NFTs are non-fungible assets used to represent unique digital or physical assets and cannot be further divided. Choosing the appropriate minting type based on investment goals is crucial.

Current Market Status and Investment Risks of Inscription Coins

After November 2023, Inscription Coin creation activity experienced explosive growth. However, this prosperity hides certain risks worth noting. First, compared to early 2023, high-quality Inscription Coin projects are becoming increasingly scarce, and low-priced opportunities are hard to find. Second, as the amount of data such as images and audio in inscriptions continues to grow, the Bitcoin network’s block space required to process these transactions surges, leading to significantly higher transaction fees. Under the pressure of high costs, the sustainability of market enthusiasm is questionable.

Currently, Bitcoin is in a sensitive development period, balancing innovation, decentralization, and security delicately. The future development of Inscription Coins remains uncertain.

Investment Advice and Development Outlook

Based on the above analysis, we advise investors to maintain a rational attitude toward Inscription Coins. Unless they have a high risk tolerance, large investments in Inscription Coin tokens or NFT products are not recommended. If they wish to participate, they should invest limited funds and set stop-loss and take-profit prices in advance.

For short-term traders, instead of chasing the uncertain trend of Inscription Coins, it might be better to directly trade Bitcoin CFDs (contracts for difference). These derivatives do not require actual asset holdings; they only involve predicting price movements to profit, offering higher flexibility and risk control.

As of December 2025, Bitcoin’s price is projected to reach $87,520, with a 24-hour increase of 0.09%. As an emerging branch of the Bitcoin ecosystem, Inscription Coins’ long-term prospects still need time to be tested. Investors should remain cautious, avoid blindly following trends, and make decisions based on a rational assessment of their risk tolerance.

Summary

Inscription Coins are an innovative application built on the Ordinals protocol. By assigning a unique identity to Bitcoin’s smallest unit, “satoshi,” they enable the issuance of NFTs and tokens on the Bitcoin main chain. Although support from mainstream exchanges has created development opportunities, rising transaction fees and market uncertainties remain factors that investors need to approach cautiously. Inscription Coins are at a critical development stage, with prospects to be observed. Investors should think rationally and avoid blindly following trends.