An unidentified individual has spent approximately $64,000 to inscribe nearly 9 megabytes of encrypted data on the Bitcoin blockchain. This unusual activity was carried out over 332 transactions, with fees ranging from $14 to $2,500 in satoshis.
The Bitcoin Inscription in More Detail
The inscriptions, consisting of raw binary data, were executed at around 11:20 am UTC on Jan. 6, according to a post from the Ordinals explorer Ord.io. Despite efforts, including attempts to use OpenAI’s ChatGPT, the content and purpose of the encrypted data remain a mystery. Some speculate that the data may be encrypted, making decryption extremely challenging, if not impossible.
BREAKING: Someone just spent >1 BTC to inscribe 8.93 MB of raw binary data into Bitcoin. Can anybody decode it to find out what it is? → https://t.co/PAaKCWVDus pic.twitter.com/wIpOsgwmhF — Ord.io (@ord_io) January 6, 2024
The Bitcoin address involved in this mysterious spree, labeled “Unnamed” on Ord.io, has sparked curiosity and speculation among users. The encrypted data features a mix of English, Greek, and mathematics symbols. Adding to the intrigue, two of the 332 inscriptions are marked with a digital pepperoni pizza, signifying they contain sats from the 10,000 BTC used in the famous purchase of two Papa John’s pepperoni pizzas by early Bitcoin contributor Laszlo Hanyecz on May 22, 2010.
This event follows closely on the heels of another notable transaction where 26.9 BTC, worth $1.17 million, was sent to Bitcoin’s Genesis wallet on Jan. 5. This transaction has led to various theories, including speculation about Satoshi Nakamoto’s involvement and other hypotheses related to U.S. tax laws.
This lawyer thinks someone sent $1.2 million to Satoshi to reveal his identity pic.twitter.com/qMnwWY3HAj — borovik.eth (@3orovik) January 7, 2024
The recent activities have sparked discussions about the use of the Bitcoin blockchain for such purposes, with some comparing Bitcoin unfavorably to Ethereum in terms of its suitability for handling such inscriptions.
The cryptocurrency community continues to watch these developments with keen interest, as the motives and implications of these actions remain shrouded in mystery.
In related news, BTC recorded a 0.3% drop in price over the past 24 hours. As a result, the market leader was changing hands at $43,876.50 at press time.
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