Over the course of its 14-year history, Bitcoin (BTC -0.52%) has primarily existed as a new form of money made possible by blockchain technology. The goal, as established by Bitcoin founder(s) under the name Satoshi Nakamoto in 2009, was to become a truly decentralized, peer-to-peer digital currency for financial transactions. But all that could be about to change in 2023.
At the end of January, a new protocol called Ordinals was launched that will make it possible to create and store non-fungible tokens (NFTs) on the Bitcoin blockchain. The launch has already sparked an outcry in the token’s community, and it is sure to affect how investors think about Bitcoin, and how they value it.
What are Bitcoin NFTs?
These new Bitcoin NFTs are going to be very different from the NFTs you find on, say, Ethereum (ETH 0.78%) or Solana (SOL 0.17%), which are the two heavyweights when it comes to NFTs right now. Current NFTs are cryptographic tokens powered by smart contracts. They reside on top of a blockchain and are separate from that blockchain.
Image source: Getty Images.
In contrast,…