Why the Ordinals protocol is comparable to the IP protocol

In a previous article, we mentioned that the Ordinals Protocol is the IP protocol of the BTC ecosystem. It's likely that many people read it, smiled politely, and set it aside without further consideration. Most would probably think it's nonsense. Recently, there have been many discussions on BTC's second-layer networks, especially @Alien71_btc "Does BTC Really Need L2?" on platform X, which resonated with us. We want to expand on our judgment based on this topic, which was also the driving force behind the development of the ordx protocol.

Let's get straight to the point. What is the most important thing for developing the BTC ecosystem? There are two key aspects: how to issue assets on the BTC mainnet and asset liquidity. Once you have assets, you must make them flow to attract attention, value, users, and everything else. Not every protocol or project can be considered part of the BTC ecosystem. In our view, only protocols that issue assets on the BTC mainnet qualify as asset issuance protocols within the BTC ecosystem. Similarly, only second-layer networks that keep assets on the mainnet are considered BTC ecosystem second-layer networks. We refer to these two conditions as the native BTC solution. For the BTC ecosystem to thrive, it must meet these native conditions because asset security is paramount. Assets not on the BTC mainnet lack security guarantees, and if assets are outside your control and enter someone else's wallet, security is also compromised. If you hold BTC assets, security is undoubtedly the most important consideration. Without security, there is no point in talking about decentralization and scalability.

Many people believe that the most unique feature of BTC is the UTXO model, so numerous solutions, whether for asset issuance or second-layer networks, try to utilize the UTXO model. We don't deny the value of these solutions; they may solve problems, but the end result is often a complex and unintuitive solution that doesn't align with our technical intuition. Our intuition tells us that the simplest solution is based on satoshis, not UTXOs. The rationale is very simple: any solution aims to expand BTC's liquidity, and while both satoshis and UTXOs are representations of BTC, Satoshi Nakamoto has already told us that satoshis are the fundamental unit of BTC, not UTXOs! BTC is satoshis, and satoshis are the assets of the Ordinals Protocol! Scaling BTC means scaling satoshis! This is the greatness of the Ordinals Protocol! Simplicity is beauty, and it has been perfectly expressed here.

Therefore, the ordx protocol is based on the Ordinals Protocol, addressing the limitation of the Ordinals Protocol's inability to issue fungible tokens (FT) by introducing a one-satoshi-one-token solution. This is the simplest and most elegant solution within the BTC ecosystem. This solution can support the largest forest in the BTC ecosystem because it is straightforward, with assets permanently linked to satoshis, data verifiable on the blockchain, and no additional burdens. It is also incredibly robust, as satoshis are never destroyed, and assets are never destroyed. Furthermore, it is the safest solution because your BTC is your BTC asset without any additional burdens.

For the ordx protocol, any second-layer solution proven to be the best will be suitable because the assets of the ordx protocol are satoshis, and satoshis are BTC. Any second-layer solution ultimately aims to expand BTC's liquidity. ordx assets can freely move to any location along with satoshis. The Lightning Network has already been proven as the native second-layer network for BTC, so from the moment ordx was created, it was already targeting the Lightning Network.

Initially, the Ordinals Protocol was like a studio crafting unique digital treasures (NFTs) one at a time. Later, the Ordinals X Protocol enhanced it, giving it the ability of an industrial minting factory to issue multiple digital currencies (FTs) at once. The hybrid mode of these two, known as SFT, is the native form of the ordx protocol, and the concept of "duality of graph and token" is just one variation of SFT. With this, the Ordinals Protocol truly gained the ability to build the BTC ecosystem and the confidence to stand alongside the IP protocol. The Ordinals Summer is bound to come.