Ordinals Defy Bitcoin's Design Principles but Offer Miners Huge Post-Halving Advantages

Bringing more complex products to the network had the effect of using up more block space, and competition for this space drove up transaction fees. In fact, in May of 2023, during the height of the initial Ordinals craze, transaction fees accounted for a full 43% of the total income per block. Later in 2023, Ordinal demand again spiked and saw fees on individual transactions spike as high as $37, a level not seen in over two years prior.