Mysterious Bitcoin User Spends $64K to Embed Raw Binary Data on Blockchain
Summary:
An anonymous Bitcoin user has spent close to $64,000 in transaction fees to embed nearly 9 megabytes of raw binary data on the Bitcoin blockchain. While the data's meaning and the individual's identity remain unclear, two of the 332 inscriptions are marked with a digital pepperoni pizza, symbolizing the first physical good bought with Bitcoin. The mysterious inscriptions follow the transfer of 26.9 BTC to the first Bitcoin wallet ever, spurring speculation in the crypto community.
A Bitcoin user whose identity remains unknown has forked out nearly $64,000 in transaction fees to add almost 9 megabytes of pure binary data to the Bitcoin blockchain. The Ordinals explorer reported on Jan. 7, in a post on the platform previously known as Twitter, that more than 1 Bitcoin was spent on generating 332 inscriptions at approximately 11:20 am UTC on Jan. 6, comprising only binary data. No one at the moment seems to understand what the data represents, despite attempts by one individual utilizing OpenAI’s ChatGPT, with no success.
This intriguing event caused a minor uproar on social media and spawned a flurry of speculation. Leonidas, the host of The Ordinal Show, made a comment on his Jan. 7 post, suggesting the data may be encrypted, making it difficult, if not impossible, to decipher. Viewers are also questioning the identity of the person behind the series of inscriptions. The Bitcoin address used in the process — “bc1pnp…zwd0th” — is merely labeled as “Unnamed” on Ord.io. The cryptic data encompasses a variety of symbols originating from English language, Greek and mathematics.
Intriguingly, within the 332 inscriptions, two bear the mark of a digital pepperoni pizza. According to Ord.io, this signifies the inclusion of sats from the 10,000 BTC used to buy two Papa John's pepperoni pizzas by early Bitcoin contributor, Laszlo Hanyecz, on May 22, 2010.
This recent mystery of inscriptions emerges in the wake of the massive 26.9 BTC, valued at $1.17 million, getting sent to Bitcoin's inaugural wallet, or Genesis wallet, on Jan. 5. This event stirred a whirlwind of speculations among industry experts.
Related to this, one of Coinbase's directors, Conor Grogan, contemplated whether Satoshi Nakamoto, the anonymous creator of Bitcoin, had "woken up" and moved the Bitcoin from Binance, or someone "just burned a million dollars." In comparison, Jeremy Hogan, a lawyer advocating for XRP, suggested that it might have been an attempt to expose Nakamoto, who would be compelled to disclose the funds to the U.S. Internal Revenue Service or face legal action. This proposition, however, was quickly dismissed by some, indicating it would only be viable if Nakamoto was subject to U.S. tax laws.
Published At
1/8/2024 7:59:44 AM
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