Bitcoin Ordinals could be stopped if blockchain bug is patched, claims dev

A bug hole connected the Bitcoin web could enactment a halt to caller Bitcoin Ordinals and BRC-20 tokens arsenic they’re causing web congestion by “exploiting a vulnerability,” claims a Bitcoin Core developer.

In a Dec. 6 X (Twitter) post, developer Luke Dashjr said inscriptions — utilized by Ordinals and BRC-20 creators to embed information connected satoshi’s — exploit a Bitcoin Core vulnerability to “spam the blockchain.”

He explained the Bitcoin Core codification has allowed users to acceptable limits connected the size of other information successful transactions since 2013, but “by obfuscating their information arsenic programme code, inscriptions bypass this limit.”

PSA: “Inscriptions” are exploiting a vulnerability successful #Bitcoin Core to spam the blockchain. Bitcoin Core has, since 2013, allowed users to acceptable a bounds connected the size of other information successful transactions they relay oregon excavation (`-datacarriersize`). By obfuscating their information arsenic programme code,…

— Luke Dashjr (@LukeDashjr) December 6, 2023

The bug allowing inscriptions to bypass this bounds was precocious fixed successful the latest update to Bitcoin Knots, a Bitcoin Core derivative with little tested oregon untested features backported from and sometimes maintained extracurricular of the halfway code.

Another X idiosyncratic asked if Ordinals and BRC-20 tokens “would halt being a thing” if the vulnerability was fixed to which Dashjr replied, “Correct.” Existing inscriptions would inactive remain,

"Bitcoin Core is inactive susceptible successful the upcoming  v26 release," helium said. “I tin lone anticipation it volition yet get fixed earlier v27 adjacent year.”

On Dec. 6, the decentralized mining protocol Ocean — wherever Dashjr is main exertion serviceman — said connected X that the Bitcoin Knots upgrade “fixes this long-standing vulnerability exploited by modern spammers.”

We are blessed to denote investigating of Bitcoin Knots v25.1 has completed successfully, and is present deployed to production. Among different improvements, this upgrade fixes this long-standing vulnerability exploited by modern spammers. As a result, our blocks volition present see galore more… https://t.co/II3y0B6Pu4

— OCEAN (@ocean_mining) December 6, 2023

As a effect of the update, Ocean said its blocks volition present see “more existent transactions” and implied Ordinals inscriptions are a denial-of-service attack  connected the Bitcoin network,” it said

Related: Bitcoin Ordinals spot resurgence from Binance listing

Dashjr is vehemently opposed to Ordinal inscriptions and claimed the “damage it’s doing to Bitcoin and Bitcoin users (including aboriginal users) [...] is immense and irreversible.”

“Nobody ever allowed ordinals. It’s been an onslaught connected Bitcoin from the start,” helium claimed successful different post.

The Ordinals protocol was launched successful January 2023 by Casey Rodarmor, enabling users to “inscribe” information and nonfungible tokens (NFTs) onto satoshis — the smallest portion denomination of Bitcoin (BTC).

The Bitcoin web has seen heightened congestion implicit the past fewer days owed to inscriptions and BRC-20 token minting.

According to mempool.space, determination are much than 275,000 unconfirmed transactions and mean medium-priority transaction costs person accrued to astir $14 from astir $1.50.

Magazine: Ordinals turned Bitcoin into a worse mentation of Ethereum: Can we hole it?