Ethereum Co-founder Praises Ordinals for Reviving Builder Culture on Bitcoin Network

In a July 6 Twitter Space discussion with Bitcoin proponents, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin commended Ordinals for returning a builder culture to the Bitcoin network.

OK WE TRY AGAIN! @VitalikButerin https://t.co/RsEag1VAKr

- Udi Wertheimer (@udiWertheimer) July 6, 2023

The nearly two-hour-long conversation was between Buterin and Bitcoin proponents Eric Wall and Udi Wertheimer.Focusing on Bitcoin scalability, the trio discussed things Bitcoin developers could adopt from Ethereum to expand the network functionality.

Buterin Asks Bitcoiners to Adopt Ethereum Zero-Knowledge Rollups

During the discussion, Buterin said Ordinals and the BRC-20 token standard introduced a shift from the stagnant politics" in the Bitcoin ecosystem.

He added that Ordinals is a push back to the laser-eye movement on the Bitcoin community, which he believes bodes well. Addressing the issue of scalability, Wall said Bitcoin's Lightning Network is inadequate for scaling future transactions.

According to the Bitcoin proponent, the Lightning Network cannot even process medium-sized payments, as it fails at intervals. In response to Wall's remark, Buterin recommended the best approach he believed would solve the problem.

He suggested that the developers implement different layer-2 solutions and seek ways to make the Bitcoin base layer more efficient.

Buterin suggested the introduction of zero-knowledge snark-based scaling solutions. Wertheimer agreed with Buterin, noting that introducing zero-knowledge (ZK) rollups could enhance the network.

According to Wertheimer, ZK-based rollups would introduce an execution environment, allowing for Smart Contracts hosting.

Acknowledging these criticisms, Wall explained that BTC serves as a proof system for the zero-knowledge proof instead of directly executing the computation on-chain. That way, the network won't witness any congestion.

My perspective is we [Bitcoiners] always wanted to do DeFi adjacent things, but we only wanted Bitcoin base layer to act as a judge or an arbiter of that computation and not have to run the computation on-chain," he explained.

Wall noted that Bitcoin layers don't have to focus on making payments. Instead, developers can build layer-2 solutions for carrying out other express functions.

Wertheimer Slams Community Members for Opposing Discussion

Interestingly, the discussion with Buterin didn't sit well with some Bitcoin community members.

Jan3 CEO Samson Mow, making fun of the discussion, found it absurd that Bitcoiners should learn from Ethereum. Adam Back, Blockstream CEO, also stood against the conversation.

However, Wertheimer slammed the duo for opposing the conversation, asking what they've achieved since running their firms over the last decade.

It bears mentioning that Wertheimer and Wall are prominent figures in the BTC community. They are behind the Ordinals project Taproot Wizard, PFP-based NFTs featuring 2,121 unique, wizard-themed NFT collections.

The duo has been particularly vocal Ordinals proponents, often advocating for increased functionality of the Bitcoin network. However, their position attracts criticisms from BTC Maxis advocating to preserve Bitcoin's original ethos.

These maxis, including Jan3 CEO Samson Mow and Blockstream CEO Adam Back cclaimNFTs and Smart Contracts, would water down Bitcoin's primary purpose, P2P payments.

In a recent interview, Mow claimed that Ordinals and the BRC-20 tokens are fads that would eventually fade in no time. He believes that Ordinals waste block space that should instead be for Bitcoin payments.

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