Bitcoin Ordinals and Inscriptions Impact on Miner Revenue as Halving Nears
This year, Bitcoin ordinals and inscriptions have significantly impacted block space utilization, bolstering miner revenue through increased transaction fees. However, miners face challenges on the horizon as the impending halving event approaches. Since their introduction in February 2023, inscriptions have actively participated in the cryptocurrency ecosystem, buying up block space and filling the mempool. They have primarily occupied the remaining space after higher-value monetary transfers. Despite their contribution to transaction fees, analytics provider Glassnode reported that the number of pending transactions in its mempool has notably increased since May. Most of these unconfirmed transactions have a minimal data footprint. Inscriptions are sensitive to absolute fee amounts and can be displaced by more urgent monetary transfers. Glassnode pointed out that the surge in text-based inscriptions aligns with the rise in pending transactions, confirming that these compact inscr...