Binance to cease support for Bitcoin Ordinals by April 18

In an effort to streamline its product offerings, Binance has announced that it will cease support for trading and depositing Bitcoin (BTC) nonfungible tokens (NFTs), also known as Bitcoin Ordinals, on its NFT marketplace starting April 18, 2024.

In a blog post dated April 4, Binance stated that the decision to wind down support for Bitcoin NFTs is part of its ongoing efforts to streamline its product strategy for offerings on the Binance NFT marketplace. Users are advised to withdraw their Bitcoin NFTs from the marketplace via the Bitcoin network before May 18, 2024, at 00:00 (UTC).

Starting from April 18, 2024, at 06:00 (UTC), users will no longer be able to buy, deposit, bid on, or list NFTs on the Binance NFT Marketplace via the Bitcoin network. All impacted listing orders will be automatically canceled at the specified time.

“Please note that Binance NFT Marketplace will not support any further airdrops, benefits, or utilities associated with Bitcoin NFTs after 2024-04-10,” the blog post stated.

The announcement also addressed Runestone NFT users who meet the conditions for the Runestone airdrop. Binance NFT had distributed these NFTs to eligible users’ accounts before April 4, 2024, at 10:00 (UTC). Users are advised to withdraw these NFTs by April 10, 2024, at 10:00 (UTC) to ensure they still have the opportunity to receive any associated tokens, utilities, and benefits after that date. Binance will not be responsible for any losses incurred if users fail to withdraw their NFTs before the stated time frame, the exchange said.

Bitcoin Ordinals, which allow for the inscription of digital content like art, text, music, or video directly onto the Bitcoin blockchain, have gained popularity since their introduction in late 2022. The protocol, created by Casey Rodarmor, enables unique digital arts to be directly embedded into Bitcoin transactions, similar to Ethereum’s NFTs.

Binance’s decision to discontinue support for Bitcoin NFTs comes as a surprise to the community, as the exchange had only added support for these tokens in May 2023, promising more opportunities for collectors.

The high volume of NFT transactions has occasionally clogged the Bitcoin network, increasing fees and slowing processing times as more transactions are validated on-chain. Recent data from Dune Analytics, the network has over 64 million inscriptions to date and has generated over $423 million in transaction fees.

As Binance phases out support for Bitcoin NFTs, users are encouraged to take the necessary steps to withdraw their assets from the marketplace within the specified timeframes to avoid any potential losses.