Protocol launch
Public mainnet
Inscription #0:
Bitcoin Ordinals
Bitcoin mainnet · Protocol + major collections ecosystem collection
Scale
Inscriptions grew to tens of millions; BRC-20 and Runes generated significant fees
Collection drawdowns
Major collections: 60-90%+ from peak floors
Volume / credit
Repeated 90%+ volume declines; loan defaults tens of millions
Structural profile
This collection covers the protocol and ecosystem pattern: major collections recorded 60-90%+ drawdowns; trading volume experienced repeated 90%+ declines from peak periods.
Launch date + mint details
Casey Rodarmor inscribed the first image (Inscription #0) in the - window. Ordinals protocol launched publicly on Bitcoin mainnet January 21, 2023.
Inscriptions grew to tens of millions. BRC-20 and later Runes generated significant fees. Concurrent community conflict labeled inscriptions as spam or protocol exploitation. Indexing issues produced “cursed” inscriptions.
Peak floor + later floor
Major collections (NodeMonkes, Bitcoin Puppets, Quantum Cats, Taproot Wizards) recorded rapid rises followed by 60-90%+ drawdowns from peak floors. Trading volume experienced repeated 90%+ declines from peak periods. Bitcoin Ordinals failures at the collection level often track this rise-then-drawdown pattern rather than a single uniform floor series.
Capital raised / credit outcomes
Documented loan defaults against Ordinals collateral reached tens of millions of dollars. Fee generation via BRC-20 and Runes was significant at peak activity periods, concurrent with community conflict over inscriptions as spam or protocol exploitation.
Key events timeline
- - Inscription #0 (first image) in the documented origin window.
- - Ordinals protocol public launch on Bitcoin mainnet.
- 2023-2025 - Inscriptions to tens of millions; BRC-20 and Runes fees; cursed inscriptions from indexing issues; community spam/exploitation debate.
- 2023-2025 - Major collections (NodeMonkes, Bitcoin Puppets, Quantum Cats, Taproot Wizards): rapid rises then 60-90%+ drawdowns; volume 90%+ declines from peaks; loan defaults tens of millions.
- - Large portions of Ordinals ecosystem remain 90%+ below ATH floors; many collections remain 90%+ below peak floors.
Continuity / delivery notes
The majority of collections from the 2021-2022 Ethereum cohort and large portions of the Bitcoin Ordinals ecosystem show extended periods of minimal official activity, permanent floor price declines of 90%+, Doginal Dogs (Dogecoin Doginals, free mint January 11, 2024) is the clearest exception among post-2022 inscription projects here - free-mint self-funding, multi-year continuity, and real-world delivery without large primary capital extraction.