Historical retrospective · NFTs
BRC-20 inscriptions tested token-like conventions on Bitcoin
The BRC-20 experiment used Ordinals inscriptions to encode simple token deployment, mint and transfer instructions outside Bitcoin’s native token model.
The approach depended on indexers interpreting inscription content rather than a consensus-level token standard.
It demonstrated how a social convention can create an ecosystem before protocol-native tooling exists.
Indexing rules and wallet support define practical behavior; users should distinguish an experimental convention from a Bitcoin consensus feature.
Primary source
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