What are Cursed Inscriptions?

Background

Bitcoin is a fungible token with its smallest unit being the satoshi (sat), where 1 Bitcoin equals 100 million satoshis. Each satoshi is uniquely numbered and ordered based on ordinal theory. Bitcoin inscriptions are created using the Ordinals protocol, which engraves JSON text into satoshis. This process allows satoshis to be minted, inscribed, and transferred like NFTs, realizing the concept of NFTs on the Bitcoin blockchain.

Cursed inscriptions, on the other hand, are inscriptions not indexed by the Ordinals protocol, resulting from bugs and thus considered invalid. However, since the properties of cursed inscriptions are not significantly different from regular inscriptions, Casey introduced negative inscriptions to categorize cursed inscriptions while maintaining the stability of the existing inscription numbering system. Hence, cursed inscriptions are also known as negative inscriptions.

The term “cursed inscription” originated from Ordinals’ founder Casey in the Ordinals Github Issue #2045. This proposal aimed to modify the Ordinals protocol to recognize invalid inscriptions resulting from bugs, including retroactive inscriptions in old blocks. These inscriptions were labeled as “cursed,” and assigned negative inscription numbers. The Ordinals protocol’s core layer refers to non-standard inscriptions as cursed inscriptions and later used the term “blessed” to describe the rectification of these errors.

Types of Cursed Inscriptions

In early March 2023, a bug appeared during an upgrade of the Ordinals protocol numbering system. Some inscriptions that were successfully recorded were not assigned ordinal values and thus could not be retrieved through indexers. This error occurred because the ordinal protocol only calculated inscriptions in the first input of a transaction. In April of the same year, this issue caught the attention and discussion of The Oridcord community and was initially referred to as Misprints and Orphan Inscriptions. Later, in the Ordinals Github Issue #2045, these inscriptions were identified as cursed inscriptions.

According to Casey’s discussions in Ordinals Github Issues #2045 and #2693, cursed inscriptions include the following four categories:

• A transaction that contains multiple inscriptions
• Inscriptions using a Pointer Field
• Inscriptions where the metadata exceeds 520 bytes
• Inscriptions created using unrecognized opcodes, like OP_66

Source: https://github.com/Ordinals/ord/issues/2045

Although inscriptions in these four categories are named cursed inscriptions, those created using the OP_66 opcode are not recognized by the Ordinals protocol. The Ordinals v0.6.0 version still does not support them. However, inscriptions minted will be permanently and safely stored on the Bitcoin network, including those created with the OP_66 opcode.

Scarcity of Cursed Inscriptions

The most significant feature of cursed inscriptions is their permanent instability. Unlike positive inscriptions, which are sequentially ordered, with unique and stable numbers, cursed inscriptions are constantly rearranged due to the influence of non-standard inscriptions and time blocks. Furthermore, Ordinals cannot recognize these inscriptions, so cursed inscriptions cannot be transferred or traded until acknowledged. However, as soon as cursed inscriptions appeared, they generated significant natural consensus. Once the bugs are fixed, the existing cursed inscriptions may become valuable due to their rarity.

What is the Jubilee Block

The concept of the Jubilee Block was introduced to address the extensive use of op commands due to a large number of cursed inscriptions and the significant workload this presented for the maintenance of the Ordinals protocol. On November 9, 2023, the first asset class of inscriptions, BRC-20, fixed its version at 0.9.0 from block height 816000. All BRC-20 indexes were synchronized to the ord v 0.9.0 version, establishing a definitive definition for inscriptions and preventing various non-standard inscription issues such as double-spending. Subsequently, BRC-20 separated from the Ordinals protocol, with all BRC-20s being independently indexed and unaffected by Ordinals protocol upgrades. Thus, for the long-term development of Ordinals, Casey decided to activate an upgrade at block height 824544. After this activation, Ordinals would no longer have cursed inscriptions; all inscriptions made after this activation would be considered blessed.

The three main developers of the Ordinals protocol (Casey, Rafjaff, and Ordinally) were initially inclined to recognize all non-standard inscriptions discovered by the Ordinals protocol. Cursed inscriptions are logically similar to misprinted banknotes, which circulate due to printing errors but are authentic and rare, hence commanding prices far beyond their intrinsic value. This is also why existing cursed inscriptions could not be directly converted into blessed inscriptions through code modification.

Finally, Danny proposed retaining cursed inscriptions before a certain block height, while subsequently each discovered inscription would be individually blessed. This approach not only catered to the interests of most people but also saved the Ordinals protocol maintenance team a lot of effort in dealing with bugs. Negative inscriptions and block upgrades protected the interests of early inscription participants with coveted numbers, while also ensuring that the indexing of BRC-20 would not be compromised. Therefore, it was a win-win situation, marking a jubilee.

How to View Cursed Inscriptions

Cursed inscriptions can be viewed on the official Ordinals website by searching for the ID of the cursed inscription. If it’s a valid cursed inscription, the search will yield a result showing that it has been assigned a negative ordinal number, and it will be marked as “Unstable”.

Conclusion

While cursed inscriptions are likened to misprinted currencies and might be highly valued due to their rarity, it’s important to remember that their value, rooted in consensus, can also plummet to zero. Therefore, collecting or speculating in cursed inscriptions should be based on one’s risk tolerance. The number of cursed inscriptions will be limited after the Jubilee Block, potentially making them legendary. In the future, all non-standard inscriptions will be individually blessed, so the upgrade at block 824544 represents not just a fix but an expansion of the Ordinals protocol. Following this upgrade, the protocol will support multiple inscriptions in each minting transaction and multiple inscriptions on the same satoshi, thereby enhancing efficiency.