NEW YORK - The Bitcoin network experienced a surge in activity, marking a significant milestone as it recorded a historic number of 505,345 Ordinal inscriptions on Sunday. This peak in inscriptions, which are essentially non-fungible tokens (NFTs) on the Bitcoin blockchain, ended a period of relative quiet since mid-September.
Despite the congestion in the mempool, with over 200,000 transactions awaiting confirmation, fees for high-priority transactions dropped to $4.28 each on Monday. The continued interest in Ordinal inscriptions has pushed their total count past the 40 million mark. Miners were rewarded handsomely for confirming these transactions, earning approximately 2,438 BTC, valued at around $90 million.
The excitement around Bitcoin-based NFTs has been mirrored in the performance of ORDI coins over the past week. The cryptocurrency saw an impressive 545% increase against the U.S. dollar, propelling its market capitalization to $434 million and placing it at 112th among the 10,900 cryptocurrencies currently in circulation.
This surge in NFT sales on the Bitcoin blockchain is significant, as it follows Ethereum’s lead in the NFT market. Data from cryptoslam.io indicates that Bitcoin's NFT sales climbed to $92.92 million, closely trailing Ethereum's $103 million in NFT sales for the week. Leading the pack was the "$SATS BRC-20 NFTs" collection, which emerged as the top seller.
The recent developments highlight a growing trend of diversification within the blockchain space as platforms traditionally focused on cryptocurrency transactions are now expanding into the realm of digital collectibles and art. This shift not only illustrates the evolving nature of blockchain technology but also reflects changing consumer interests and investment strategies within the digital asset community.
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