#BTC #Bitcoin #NFT
Earlier this year, a NFT protocol named Ordinals, created by former Bitcoin Core contributor named Casey Rodarmor, was launched on the Bitcoin network. Soon after the launch of Ordinals, NFT projects such as Bitcoin Punks, TweleveFold and more are taking the Bitcoin NFT market. But recently, a new Bitcoin NFT implementation called BTC Stamps has been created, and within the first 20 days of its introduction, far more NFTs have been minted in this way than when the more familiar Ordinals started.
Introduction to BTC Stamps
BTC Stamps was created by anonymous developer Mike In Space! According to his Github submission, BTC Stamps is implemented by embedding image data in base 64 format into the transaction output on the Bitcoin chain, thereby permanently storing the corresponding image data on the Bitcoin chain.
The user first encodes the binary content of the image into a base 64 formatted string, and then prefixes the string with “Stamp:”, which will be “STAMP:base64”. After that, the entire text is broadcast onto the Bitcoin ledger using the Counterparty protocol, where the content is sliced but numbered one by one to allow higher-level applications to reverse decode it to the original image content.
There are also rules to abide by all Bitcoin Stamps according to the Github document by the developer. For example, a Bitcoin Stamp must be a numerical asset such as [A1997663462583877600]. A Bitcoin Stamp can be created by using a previously existing numerical asset which was not previously made a STAMP, which means the Stamps cannot be duplicated on the same asset. That is to say, if one asset is already a STAMP, then by simply changing the description field to a new base64 string, it will not become a new STAMP. Lastly, the image data being used must be in either jpg, png, gif or webP format and encoded in base64.
Stampchain data shows that as of the time of writing, 10,934 BTC Stamps NFTs have been minted, and most of the images are directly copied from CryptoPunks’ original images.
Comparison to Ordinals
BTC Stamps offers a new implementation for all players interested in Bitcoin NFTs, with some notable differences compared to Ordinals. The biggest advantage of BTC Stamps over Ordinals is that it is based on the simplest of transaction outputs, so bitcoin full nodes have “no choice” but to save BTC Stamps. RETURN and “witness data” used in the Ordinals solution are subject to modification or deletion by the full nodes.
However, BTC Stamps also have some disadvantages compared to Ordinals. For example, Ordinals supports other file types besides images, such as text, audio, video and even applications, as long as it does not exceed the 4 MB limit of the block size, which BTC Stamps are unable to do at the moment. In addition, the cost of BTC Stamps is higher than Ordinals, which leads BTC Stamps to limit the cost by limiting the specifications of the original image.
Conclusion
The development of Bitcoin NFT is still in the very early stage. Both BTC Stamps and Ordinals are not mature enough yet. Additionally, the Bitcoin community is divided over the issuance of NFTs on the Bitcoin network. Some believe it will provide more financial use cases for Bitcoin, which will drive demand for block space and thus higher fees.
For the Bitcoin network NFT-related infrastructure, it will all be gradually built and improved as the wealth effect and user base grows and the eco-products continue to compete with each other. What we can do now is to devote more attention to the development of the Bitcoin network ecosystem. At the same time, it is important to note that the current NFT projects on the Bitcoin network are in a state of confusion, and users need to do their due diligence carefully when looking for business opportunities in them to avoid losing assets.
Author: Bitunix Research
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