Bug Fix Could Halt New Bitcoin Ordinals and BRC-20 Tokens, Says Developer

Bitcoin Core Vulnerability Exploited

A recent bug fix on the Bitcoin network may put an end to the creation of new Bitcoin Ordinals and BRC-20 tokens, according to Luke Dashjr, a Bitcoin Core developer. Dashjr claims that inscriptions, which are used by Ordinals and BRC-20 creators to embed data on satoshis, exploit a vulnerability in the Bitcoin Core code and are causing network congestion by "spamming the blockchain."

Exploited Vulnerability Fixed in Bitcoin Knots Update

The bug that allowed inscriptions to bypass the data size limit set by users in Bitcoin Core was recently fixed in the latest update to Bitcoin Knots, a Bitcoin Core derivative. Bitcoin Knots includes features that are less tested or untested compared to the core code. Dashjr stated that the vulnerability would still exist in the upcoming v26 release of Bitcoin Core, and he hopes it will be fixed before v27 next year.

Denial-of-Service Attack on Bitcoin Network

Decentralized mining protocol Ocean, where Dashjr serves as the chief technology officer, stated that the Bitcoin Knots upgrade fixes a long-standing vulnerability that has been exploited by spammers. Ocean claimed that Ordinals inscriptions are a denial-of-service attack on the Bitcoin network. Dashjr strongly opposes Ordinals inscriptions and believes they are causing irreversible damage to Bitcoin and its users.

Bitcoin Network Congestion

The Bitcoin network has experienced increased congestion in recent days due to the use of inscriptions and the minting of BRC-20 tokens. There are currently over 275,000 unconfirmed transactions, and the average medium-priority transaction costs have risen to around $14 from approximately $1.50, according to mempool.space.

Source: [Original Article]