Top Highlights
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BRC-20 Tokens Challenge Nodes: BitMEX Research reports that BRC-20 tokens, with 92.5 million transactions, place greater stress on Bitcoin nodes compared to Ordinal images (2.7 million transactions), despite both occupying approximately 30GB of storage.
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Ordinal Images Are Easier to Handle: Large Ordinal images simplify verification for nodes as they are stored separately and avoid signature checks, potentially facilitating scaling without burdening the UTXO set.
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Impact on UTXO Set: BRC-20 transactions have significantly increased the UTXO set from 84 million to 169 million, posing difficulties for node operators, particularly those using pruned nodes, while contributing over 5,000 BTC in fees.
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Verification Speed Findings: Tests suggest that larger Ordinal inscriptions can speed up verification speeds; however, it raises concerns about blockspace consumption, which could hinder essential financial transactions in the Bitcoin network.
BRC-20 Tokens and Images Speeding Up Bitcoin Node Verification
In its latest report, BitMEX Research examined how BRC-20 tokens and Ordinal images affect Bitcoin node verification. The study analyzed Ordinal-related data, including transaction count and data size. It aimed to find the impact of these transactions on node operators.
The findings reveal a significant distinction. BRC-20 tokens strain Bitcoin nodes more than Ordinal images. The report noted that BRC-20 tokens account for 92.5 million transactions, while images total only 2.7 million. Both types require about 30GB of storage. However, BRC-20 transactions create more stress on nodes, whereas larger Ordinal images have minimal performance impact.
BitMEX explained that large Ordinal images store data in a non-executed sector of the Taproot witness. This design means they do not require signature checks, making them easier to verify. Consequently, they can even help scale the network by occupying blockspace without growing the UTXO set.
Conversely, BRC-20 transactions act like typical Bitcoin activities. Despite their smaller size, they expanded the UTXO set from 84 million to 169 million between December 2022 and September 2025. This growth poses challenges for node operators, especially those running pruned nodes. The study indicated that these transactions have contributed over 5,000 BTC in fees since the protocol emerged.
Tests conducted by BitMEX over nearly three years revealed more intriguing insights. They found that large amounts of “arbitrary data” could actually speed up blockchain verification. Approximately 11% of the differences in download and verification speeds related to larger inscriptions.
Yet, researchers issued a cautionary note. While larger Ordinals may enhance verification speeds, this does not imply they are beneficial for Bitcoin overall. Heavy data inscriptions consume considerable blockspace, potentially displacing vital financial transactions.
Moreover, a separate study by Glassnode concluded that Ordinals and BRC-20 tokens do not replace standard Bitcoin transactions. Instead, they add more value, fees, and data to each block. BitMEX also highlighted that their findings are not definitive. Factors like internet speed and hardware variations can significantly affect performance. Further testing remains essential to understand the broader implications for the Bitcoin network.
In this rapidly evolving landscape, both BRC-20 tokens and Ordinals are shaping the future of Bitcoin technology, demonstrating a complex interaction between scalability and transaction efficiency.
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