- A Bitcoin Ordinals-like project, Ethscriptions, has launched on Ethereum and attracted around 30,000 inscriptions in less than 24 hours
- Developed by Genius.com co-founder, it allows users to directly write data to the Ethereum blockchain
- The Ethscriptions developer believes the project provides a cheaper way to create Ethereum NFTs
A Bitcoin Ordinals-like project known as Ethscriptions has launched on Ethereum and initially attracted around 30,000 inscriptions in less than 24 hours. Developed by Genius.com co-founder Tom Lehman, it allows users to directly write data to the Ethereum blockchain. Lehman believes that the project provides a cheaper way to create Ethereum NFTs without employing smart contracts.
Images Only, for Now
Launched on Saturday, June 17, Ethscriptions enables users to write or “ethscribe” data not exceeding 96 kilobytes to the blockchain and utilizes data used to contact a smart contract also known as “calldata.”
With almost 30k Ethscriptions in <18 hours, the launch was a huge success!
Thank you for seeing the massive potential here!
I am on Ethscriptions 24/7, but I need your help!
DM @proroketh to join our protocol Twitter chat. Ideas, bug reports, NO alpha, NO trading, NERDS ONLY! pic.twitter.com/udKdsVT0L8
— Middlemarch (@dumbnamenumbers) June 17, 2023
Although the project is currently open to ethscribing images to the blockchain, its developer revealed that he’s working to open it up to more file types. Apart from being cheap, Lehman noted that it also offers a higher degree of decentralization than data stored in a smart contract.
The first NFT project to take advantage of Ethscriptions was Ethereum Punks which attracted a positive response with all 10,000 collectibles claimed shortly after launch. According to Lehman, the popularity of Ethereum Punks brought down the Ethscription website due to “too many people.”
Sorry everything is crashing! Too many people. If you see 0 / 10,000 minted, that means the API isn’t working and you should wait to Ethscribe.
Fixing it! https://t.co/AAFVhGFbKk
— Middlemarch (@dumbnamenumbers) June 16, 2023
Ethereum Community, Unlike Bitcoin’s, is Open to New Ideas,
Some in the crypto community noted that Ethscriptions differs from Bitcoin Ordinals in the sense that the Ethereum community is willing to experiment with new ideas. The launch of Ordinals split the Bitcoin community with one section saying it goes against Satoshi Nakamoto’s vision.
With Bitcoin Ordinals attracting the attention of major NFT-focused entities like Magic Eden and Yuga Labs, it’s yet to be seen whether Ethscriptions will match the interest considering that Ethereum already supports NFTs through smart contracts.
