bitcoin-dev

Ordinal Inscription Size Limits

Ordinal Inscription Size Limits

Original Postby Robert Dickinson

Posted on: January 29, 2023 10:34 UTC

In an email thread dated January 28, 2023, a user named alicexbt wrote to Bitcoin developers, emphasizing the importance of capacity planning for disk space for those running an unpruned Bitcoin node.

She explained that as demand for blockspace increases, people will make better use of the space that we already have and average block weight will trend upwards. The user suggested that anyone thinking about how much disk space they will need when blocks are consistently full should not rely on ordinal inscriptions. Another user in the thread agreed with this perspective and expressed disgust at the idea that a significant portion of future financial data on the blockchain could end up being something else entirely due to poor capacity planning. Both users agreed that time/space on the Bitcoin blockchain is a shared limited resource and should be treated accordingly. Finally, they ended their discussion with a quote: “If the ax is not sharp and he does not make it sharp, then he must use more strength. Wisdom helps one to do well.”