Bitcoin Ordinals are a new feature introduced to the Bitcoin network, enabling the creation of unique, indivisible units, or “ordinals,” on top of the existing blockchain. These ordinals are akin to digital collectibles or non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and are stored on the Bitcoin blockchain, utilizing the same infrastructure as regular Bitcoin transactions.
Ordinals are created when someone sends a transaction with a specific value to a specific output, such as an address, and includes a unique script that assigns a serial number to the output. This script essentially creates a new, indivisible unit, making it an ordinal. These ordinals can represent anything from digital art to rare collectibles, and their scarcity and uniqueness make them valuable.
The main difference between Bitcoin Ordinals and traditional Bitcoin is that the former is focused on creating unique, indivisible units, while the latter is focused on facilitating peer-to-peer electronic cash transactions.