The fervor that surrounded Bitcoin Ordinals seems to have waned, with sales volume dropping more than 97% from its all-time high in May 2023.
However, some community members believe Bitcoin Ordinals are not dead, some others state that the earlier hype was a major cause of its crash, arguing that Bitcoin is better off maintaining its primary function as a store of value.
Bitcoin Ordinals have seen a sharp decline in sales volume from its peak of $452 million recorded in May 2023 to $3 million in mid-August, signaling a 97% drop within three months, according to a report by DappRadar.
After an impressive performance in May, Bitcoin Ordinals’ sales volume began to nosedive in June, falling 76.5% to $100 million. July did not fare any better, with sales volume further plunging 66.9% to $35 million. Data for August so far shows a 91.4% drop in sales to $3 million.
Apart from sales volume, transactions have also reduced since May, with the report revealing that transactions have plummeted to 88.1% in August at 20,571, compared to 832,648 three months ago.
While there has been a downward trend in the general non-fungible token (NFT) market, Bitcoin Ordinals seem to be the worst hit compared to other blockchains like Ethereum and Polygon, which have long been in the NFT market and enjoy wider applications.
According to the DaapRadar report, the number of unique active wallets (UAW) rose from 696 in February to 79,261 in May. However, the upswing did not last long, with the current figure at 6,708 in mid-August.
Meanwhile, the sharp decline in sales volume and transactions could indicate a waning interest in Bitcoin Ordinals and also poses a question about its sustainability in the NFT sector.
Notably, the performance within a short period has led to speculations that Bitcoin Ordinals are dead, with some community members stating that the early hype around them was too big for it to last long.
However, some remain bullish and believe it is too early to call Bitcoin Ordinals failure, stating that the project is still in its early stages. Some others, meanwhile, argue that Bitcoin and Ethereum are two different blockchains that have different missions and functions, adding that Bitcoin is better off remaining a store of value while Ethereum runs the digital economy.
Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin in July praised Bitcoin Ordinals, saying that it helped to bring back the “culture of actually doing things” on the network.