In a recent conversation at the Bitcoin 2023 conference in Miami, Michael Saylor, MicroStrategy co-founder and executive chairman, opened up about his views on Ordinals – a concept similar to NFTs, primarily existing on the Ethereum network. Ordinals allow arbitrary and non-financial data, such as images, to be included on the Bitcoin blockchain. Over the past couple of weeks, Ordinals and BRC-20 tokens have been gaining prominence as transaction fees surged, sparking numerous discussions within the Bitcoin community about possible network attacks and potential censorship of these transactions.
Michael Saylor welcomes Ordinals as a positive development in the Bitcoin sphere, although he does express some skepticism as many of the early use cases “aren’t terribly serious” and tend more toward speculation. One of the top-performing Bitcoin Ordinals collections, for example, is Bitcoin Frogs – a derivative of the Pepe the Frog meme coin craze, which has electrified the NFT scene.
Saylor also shared his thoughts on BRC-20 inscriptions and whether they might be considered unregistered securities. He stated that if the tokens are seen as fungible tokens issued for unregistered securities, it would be highly objectionable, as this practice is unethical and illegal. On the other hand, if issued and regulated ethically and legally, there ought to be no problem. Ultimately, it boils down to how the tokens are utilized and perceived.
Hypothetically speaking, Saylor suggests a situation where these tokens are used to tokenize all stocks and ETFs listed on NASDAQ, enabling individuals to take personal custody of their shares instead of relying on centralized custodians. If presented in this way, he believes Bitcoiners would be thrilled.
While Saylor does foresee economically sound applications for the tokens, he also admits there might be those that are unethical or thoughtless. He aligns with many within the Bitcoin community, advocating for a free market approach where individuals have the liberty to invest in their beliefs and criticize seemingly absurd ideas without censoring them.
Notwithstanding some concerns about potential unregistered security offerings and community pushback, Saylor staunchly opposes censorship of Ordinal transactions on the Bitcoin network. He firmly stated, “Do I think we should modify the protocol to censor certain types of transactions? My answer is no.” This balanced viewpoint allows room for both skepticism and enthusiasm, paving the way for a future wherein the Bitcoin blockchain explores new frontiers in terms of utility and innovation.
Source: Decrypt
