Ordinal is the term used for the data inscribed to a sat on Bitcoin. They have some similarities to smart contract NFTs but many differences as well. Ordinals are similar in that they are non-fungible and, so far, have mainly been used for JPEGs and PFPs.
There are a few critical differences between ordinals and NFTs:
- They are inscribed to a specific sat on Bitcoin forever. If the sat moves, so do the inscriptions.
- They are ordered. There is a 1st ordinal and a 10,000th ordinal.
- Ordinals are inscribed to Bitcoin, one at a time, not en-masse through a smart contract.
Ordinals are also sometimes called an inscription.
