<\/p>\n
Bitcoin Ordinals are here and seemingly here to stay<\/a>. But not everyone is happy about their presence. Because Ordinals increase traffic on the blockchain, seasoned HODLers and those accustomed to using Bitcoin solely for its primary purpose (transacting) have raised concerns about the congestion these digital artifacts might be causing.<\/p>\n With this in mind, it\u2019s no surprise that\u00a0when independent developer and Taproot Wizards founder Udi Wertheimer purposefully orchestrated<\/a> the largest block and largest transaction in Bitcoin\u2019s history, the keepers of tradition weren\u2019t thrilled. But to industry disruptors like him, maxing out BTC\u2019s block size and its corresponding effects aren\u2019t a cause for contention but for celebration. <\/p>\n Why? Because it means innovation is still possible on the world\u2019s first blockchain.<\/p>\n It\u2019s almost universally understood that network congestion is a problem. Congestion leads to<\/a> slowed transaction speeds, increased energy demands, higher fees, and, ultimately, a decline in usability. Yet, without a problem, there can be no solution. Recently, the crypto industry witnessed Ethereum\u2019s energy consumption drop to almost 99.99 percent thanks to the long-awaited merge<\/a>. But before the switch, congestion had to be tackled in other ways.<\/p>\n Ethereum survived for years before merging from proof-of-work to proof-of-stake with the help of layer two solutions like the Polygon blockchain that helped process transactions<\/a> off of the mainnet. While Bitcoin surely doesn\u2019t need the same level of salvation that a merge or other overhaul might provide, with congestion increasing, layer twos may act as a saving grace once again.<\/p>\n Currently, blockchains adjacent to BTC, like the Internet Computer<\/a> (ICP), Stacks<\/a>, and others, have the potential to alleviate the issues befalling Bitcoin as a result of Ordinals. By taking transactions off the Bitcoin mainnet \u2014which can only complete seven<\/a> transactions per second \u2014 as opposed to ICP \u2014 which can execute 11,500<\/a> \u2014 these blockchains help loosen the grip that Ordinals is gaining. But while this act, at face value, might read as a major win for BTC, these layer twos also stand to benefit as a result.<\/p>\n While congestion can inhibit Bitcoin, it provides opportunities for developers, especially those working with layer twos, in the form of usership and liquidity. Stacks alone has already seen a significant spike in the price of its native token<\/a>, STX, as a direct result of handling Ordinals traffic. And who\u2019s to say that further benefit cannot come from the current hardships being felt on Bitcoin? This is precisely the thinking of those like Wertheimer, who feel there\u2019s value in pushing boundaries.<\/p>\n Wertheimer believes that rules must be broken and the status quo must be challenged to muster up renewed interest in innovation on the Bitcoin blockchain. While he thinks that the Bitcoin community would have once agreed with this statement, he feels that it lost momentum, with the unique, creative, and humorous culture once established by early crypto adopters now transferred to the NFT space.<\/p>\n \u201cI feel like the Bitcoin community, in the last two or three years, has been very dismissive of everything that\u2019s been happening in crypto. I think that\u2019s wrong. I think it\u2019s very different from what Bitcoin culture used to be,\u201d Wertheimer said in an interview with nft now. \u201cBitcoin culture used to be very open, very experimental. People were interested in trying things that were never tried before, even if they didn\u2019t know if it was going to work out.\u201d<\/p>\n Through Taproots Wizards, which Wertheimer launched by way of the aforementioned larger-than-life 4MB Bitcoin block<\/a>, Wertheimer hopes to reignite that flame of innovation.<\/p>\nBlockchain congestion: A good problem to have?<\/h2>\n
Congestion as a catalyst for change<\/h2>\n