Binance plans to end support for Bitcoin NFTs despite recent surge in interest
Cryptocurrency exchange Binance will end support for Bitcoin NFTs less than a year after they hit the market.
Binance said in a blog post on Thursday that it will not support any additional airdrops, benefits or utilities related to Bitcoin NFTs after April 10, citing “ongoing efforts to streamline product offerings” in the NFT marketplace. .
The platform will then cease support for trading and deposits of Bitcoin NFTs starting at 6:00 AM UTC on April 18. This means users will no longer be able to buy, bid on, or list NFTs on the marketplace, and existing orders will be cancelled. hour. Binance also advised users to withdraw Bitcoin NFTs before 12:00 AM UTC on May 18.
Explicitly mentioning Bitcoin-based Runestone NFTs, Binance recently gave NFTs until April 4th to distribute to users who met the Runestone Airdrop conditions, but “you have until April 10th to still have the opportunity to receive related benefits.” “I advised them to withdraw the NFT,” he said. Tokens, Utility and Benefits.” Binance added that Runestone NFT trading will not be supported during this period.
Bitcoin became the fourth blockchain supported on Binance’s NFT marketplace in June 2023. However, it now appears that the addition came less than a year after implementation.
Binance’s decision comes despite a recent surge in interest in Bitcoin Ordinals NFTs, with the NodeMonkes collection’s lowest price soaring more than 50% in the past month, surpassing Bored Ape Yacht Club in market capitalization.
Binance did not immediately respond to The Block’s request for comment.
What is Bitcoin Ordinal?
The Bitcoin Ordinals protocol, launched in January 2023 by Casey Rodarmor, provides a new way to store and transact digital content in Bitcoin. Utilizing Satoshi, the smallest unit of Bitcoin, users can inscribe NFTs, BRC-20 tokens, and other random data directly onto the blockchain, with each piece becoming a unique, tradable asset.
Although the terms “ordinal” and “inscription” are often used interchangeably, an ordinal is technically a unique serial identifier for a single satoshi, while an inscription is the content or data attached to that specific satoshi.
The growing popularity of ordinal numbers in Bitcoin over the past year has sparked a debate about whether inscriptions representing things like NFTs and BRC-20 tokens should exist in Bitcoin. Inscription relies on Bitcoin’s OP_RETURN function, which stores random data on the blockchain.
However, the surge in Ordinals activity has led to congestion and higher transaction fees. Bitcoin users suffered delays in transaction processing without having to pay higher fees.
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