- Jimmy Song attacks Ordinals as a scam masquerading under the Bitcoin brand.
- Song encouraged others to relentlessly attack Ordinals.
- Other community members point to the benefits brought about by Ordinals.
The advent of Ordinals in early 2023 has reinvigorated the Bitcoin network, bringing new use cases and additional mining fees. Yet Bitcoin maximalists continue to push back against the controversial protocol, arguing that the BTC network should focus only on monetary transactions.
As the New Year rang in, Bitcoin expert Jimmy Song waded into the debate by firmly nailing his colors to the maximalist mast, warning users that Ordinals is an altcoin scam masquerading under the BTC name.
Bitcoin Ordinals Scam?
Song believes that Ordinals is essentially an altcoin scam that uses Bitcoin branding to deceive people. By building on top of the BTC network and even co-opting the narrative around sound money and self-sovereignty used by veteran Bitcoiners, Ordinals has exploited Bitcoin’s name recognition to seem legitimate and credible, according to Song.
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The Bitcoin expert contends that peeling back the layers of the Ordinals movement reveals the same “pump and dump nature” of altcoins, which focuses on peddling tokens and rousing speculation rather than advancing Bitcoin’s mission to create economic freedom.
“Don't let them take over. Reject these charlatans and shame them for their chicanery,” warned Song.
Song called on the Bitcoin community to take action instead of hoping that Ordinals will fade away. He urged users to quicken the failure of Ordinals by relentlessly exposing the protocol for the scam that it is.
While Song has adopted a purist stance, others within the Bitcoin community have voiced their approval of Ordinals based on the protocol’s numerous benefits.
Ordinals Benefits
Although Ordinals has its detractors, there are also many supporters of the protocol within the Bitcoin community. MicroStrategy chair Michael Saylor recently praised the knock-on effects of attracting talent and creativity away from rival blockchains as developers move to Bitcoin to work on new use cases.
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Similarly, Ordinals has also delivered a windfall for BTC miners, who have generated over $225 million in extra fees since the protocol went live. This supplemental revenue stream has reinvigorated many miners, keeping operations running profitably while motivating them to keep securing the network.
On the Flipside
- Some Bitcoin maxis allege Ordinals is a BSV-led conspiracy to undermine the network.
- Close to 53 million Ordinals inscriptions have been written into the Bitcoin blockchain.
- Ordinals activity is predicted to spike even higher in 2024.
Why This Matters
Bitcoin aims to be an open, permissionless network that anyone can use and build on. However, following Song’s line of thinking to its logical conclusion is to restrict and censor Bitcoin transactions, which would make BTC no better than legacy finance, highlighting the nuance required to balance evolving demands on the BTC network.
Read more about the division stoked by Bitcoin Ordinals here:
Bitcoin Civil War: Core Dev Proposes Plan to Kill Ordinals
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