Binance is the latest to join the ordinals bandwagon as they have just announced the addition of Bitcoin to the growing list of supported networks on their Binance NFT Marketplace. Prior to this, users could hold and trade only NFTs on Binance Smart Chain, Ethereum, Solana and Polygon.
The addition will allow users to trade, withdraw and deposit their BRC-20 assets on the leading exchange’s NFT marketplace and signals the company’s intention to expand its support of blockchain-based assets and subsequently meet the ever growing and changing needs of customers.
Although only a limited number of Bitcoin NFTs are currently tradable according to the report, the platform has made a commitment to continuously expand its offerings and add more Bitcoin NFTs in the near future.
The announcement was met with enthusiasm and celebrated as a significant victory for BRC-20 maximalists who have actively defended their position against strong criticism from other members of the crypto community.
In addition to this win, Binance also launched a new promotion to reward the Bitcoin NFT community. Per the report, participants who conduct at least one trade involving Bitcoin NFTs during the specified period will be eligible to receive a portion of the 80 Bitcoin NFTs allocated for distribution.
The rewards are categorised based on different collections and snapshot periods. Those users who previously took part in Binance NFT’s registration event will have 25 winners selected per snapshot period to receive Bitcoin NFT rewards. Additionally, other eligible users will have the chance to win Bitcoin NFTs according to the award selection rules.
By facilitating the trading of Bitcoin NFTs, more volume and more activity will be injected into the market, potentially leading to significant growth.
The rise of Bitcoin Ordinals
The popularity of Bitcoin NFTs has been met with contrasting reactions by the crypto community. While maximalists argue that Bitcoin Ordinals could be a catalyst for adoption, critics are of the opinion that Bitcoin Ordinals are eroding Bitcoin’s core value proposition. They also blame the advent of Ordinals for the recent surge in transaction fees.
Microstrategy co-founder and longtime cryptocurrency advocate Michael Saylor however believes that this argument is actually in favour of Bitcoin. Speaking at PBDs Podcast, he said:
“Every time someone builds an application that’s cool on Bitcoin, like all the Ordinals and inscriptions and whatever that are driving up transaction fees, it’s a catalyst”
He further revealed that his software company is exploring the possibility of utilising Bitcoin Ordinals in application development.
Bitcoin NFTs have however continued to soar significantly amidst the heated debate and data from Dune Analytics rightly suggests this. Total inscriptions till date is just shy of the 11 million mark, representing a 266% increase from 3 million on 1 May while over $42m has been paid in fees to facilitate these transactions.
Binance in the news
Despite the recent crackdown by the SEC, the latest announcement managed to bring a much-needed reason to smile for the crypto community, countering the somber atmosphere of the past 24 hours. The embattled cryptocurrency exchange and its founder Changpeng Zhao were yesterday charged 13-counts by the SEC for violations of securities law, including the sale of BNB and BUSD which it termed securities. The regulatory watchdog went on to accuse Binance and CZ of misleading investors and exposing them to risk.
Earlier today, Binance issued a statement of its own, denying all allegations and accusing the SEC of ‘trying to make headlines’ rather than defining a regulatory framework for industry players. It further vowed to vehemently defend itself of all allegations, clarify that all users’ funds were safe and secure.
