The new feature that allows for easy identification of inscriptions sparks mixed opinions and questions about its implications.
The recent introduction of a new feature within the mempool.space block explorer has reignited the debate on inscriptions within the Bitcoin community. Some well-known figures have expressed criticism of the update, arguing that it could alter some of the fundamental principles that have characterized Bitcoin since its inception.
Description of the feature
The new feature of mempool.space allows users to easily identify whether a transaction contains activities related to the Runestone or Runes token protocol. The aim of this feature is to improve the accessibility and transparency of on-chain data, simplifying users’ interaction with the understanding of transactions.
Before the update:
After the update:
In a post on X, the official mempool.space account explained:
“If you lookup a transaction that contains ordinals, inscriptions, or runestones, this data will be visible on http://mempool.space exactly as it exists on Bitcoin’s blockchain.”
The influence of the Ordinal community
In recent months, Mempool.space has received significant support, both financial and otherwise, from the community surrounding Ordinal, inscriptions, and Runestone.
On October 13, the controversial group Taproot Wizards was announced as the new Enterprise Sponsor of the block explorer.
Community reactions
Some members of the Bitcoin community have harshly criticized the new feature introduced by the block explorer.
Regarding the sponsorship by the Taproot Wizards, Knut Svanholm, author of “Bitcoin: Everything divided by 21 million,” stated:
“These clowns have managed to bribe one of the longest-standing and highest-quality open-source projects in the space into labeling transactions that ‘contain ordinals, inscriptions, and runes’ as such. It is a shame, to say the least. None of these scams are Bitcoin.”
Luke Dashjr., CEO of Ocean Mining, commented:
“Ordinals, Inscriptions, and Runestones ARE NOT BITCOIN and DO NOT EXIST on Bitcoin’s blockchain.”
In contrast, Gloria Zhao, maintainer of Bitcoin Core, defended mempool.space’s decision, ironically stating:
“I can’t believe someone bribed @mempool into adding a submitpackage endpoint. It all happened after they opened a GitHub issue – extremely suspicious. Packages AREN’T EVEN A THING ON CHAIN. Next thing you know, they’ll start displaying FEERATES too.”
