A new non-fungible Bitcoin token (NFT) marketplace aims to reduce the network fees associated with launching Bitcoin Ordinals inscriptions by leveraging the Internet Computer Protocol (ICP).
Developed as part of Bitcoin Ordinals’ inception in early 2023, Bioniq operates on the ICP and leverages its native Bitcoin integration to power trading of Bitcoin-based Ordinals inscriptions.
Speaking to Cointelegraph on the eve of the platform’s launch, Bob Bodily, CEO and co-founder of Bioniq, said the project has been in development since February 2023. The team has built a marketplace with ordinals smart contracts auctions on the ICP, a complete cross-chain platform wallet between Bitcoin and the ICP, as well as a labeling tool.
“It had only been two weeks after Casey Rodarmor released Ord 0.4.0 and I knew that Ordinals would be absolutely massive.”
The Bioniq team highlighted the growth in market capitalization of the BRC-20 tokens since their launch in January 2023. The market capitalization now exceeds $3 billion, with over 42.6 million ordinals minted to date. This directly impacted the congestion of the Bitcoin network and led to an increase in Bitcoin (BTC) transaction fees, which was last seen since 2021.
Bitcoin transaction fees saw a significant increase in 2023 following the launch of Bitcoin Ordinals and BRC-20 tokens. Source: Blockchain.com
Bioniq’s platform features a smart wallet that allows users to manage private keys using Web3Auth. This allows users to log into the platform using traditional Web2 Google accounts while maintaining non-custodial control of their wallets and assets.
The platform also leverages partially signed Bitcoin transactions (PSBTs) via ICP’s Bitcoin network integration. This unlocks smart contract features for Bitcoin, eliminating the need for users to use centralized cross-chain bridges.
ICP is a “fantastic Bitcoin sidechain”
Building on ICP also allows Bioniq to achieve transaction completion times of less than two seconds and no gas or network fees. Its architecture ensures optimized storage costs, averaging about $5 per gigabyte of data stored annually.
Bodily added that Toniq, the studio behind Bioniq, has been developing on ICP since May 2021 and has extensive experience in building smart contract wallets, marketplaces, NFT launchpads and collateralized NFT lending protocols:
“ICP is a fantastic Bitcoin sidechain right now because it has wonderful Bitcoin primitives at the protocol level.”
Bodily explains that ICP operates a Bitcoin Light node that runs entirely on-chain, making it easier to read the Bitcoin blockchain via native smart contract calls. The ICP also features a digital threshold signature algorithm known as the Elliptic Curve Digital Signature Algorithm. The implementation allows ICP smart contracts to sign and send Layer 1 Bitcoin transactions to the mempool.
“These protocol primitives also allowed us to create an Ordinals wrapper entirely at the application layer; We didn’t need to touch the consensus layer of the protocol at all. Therefore, it is currently very fast to build Bitcoin technology on ICP,” Bodily added.
Bitcoin users and trust assumptions
Cointelegraph also inquired whether Bioniq’s packaging process could pose a potential barrier to entry for users. Bodily acknowledges that while the process is largely automated by the Bioniq wallet and only requires BTC, there are two considerations that are relevant to more sophisticated users.
“Packaging requires a Bitcoin transaction. This means you have to pay for the packaging. This is a significant obstacle. One way to address the issue is to integrate open Nostr PSBT records into Bioniq,” explained Bodily.
This integration means that PSBT records stored on Nostr via Ordinals decentralized marketplaces OpenOrdex or Deezy Place will be accessible on Bioniq. He added that this eliminates the need to package Bitcoin transactions as users could list directly on Bioniq using open PSBTs.
Perhaps more importantly, Bodily explained that the packaging process requires “trust assumptions” for both protocols:
“Moving to ICP means you not only trust Bitcoin, but you now also trust the Internet Computer Protocol. Some Bitcoin users do not want to take on the counterparty risk of transferring assets to another chain.”
Bodily adds that Bioniq is focused on developing the user experience before adopting Bitcoin’s security, which is ensured by the finality of Layer 1 transactions. However, he envisions a “nice decentralization path” for applications like Bioniq.
This would involve evolving from a build on a sidechain with additional trust assumptions to “a Bitcoin sovereign rollup on ICP with minimized trust.” In the final step, Bioniq would become a Bitcoin zero-knowledge rollup (ZK-Rollup) on the ICP without additional trust assumptions, adopting the full security and decentralization of Bitcoin.
“ICP also fits perfectly into this plan as ICP can provide a replicated execution environment (decentralized sequencer) or Validium (additional off-Bitcoin storage for rollups).”
Rely on Bitcoin’s value proposition
A number of NFT marketplaces already offer Bitcoin Ordinals auctions and trading, raising the question of what an exclusive Ordinals platform will bring to the ecosystem.
Bodily believes existing offerings that provided “softer pivots” to Ordinals on their platforms were marred by confusing user experiences. The development of a “dedicated Bitcoin Ordinals marketplace natively designed for Bitcoin users” depends on the development of a native cross-chain BTC ICP wallet.
Additionally, Bitcoin’s undisputed position as the pre-eminent and largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization remains another draw for continued interest in Bitcoin NFTs in the future.
“If you look at the numbers, 89% of people in the world have heard of Bitcoin, Bitcoin accounts for about 50% of the total crypto market cap, and Ordinals have done over $500 million in volume this year – it exists So there’s a huge demand.” .”
Bioniq joins Ordinals Market as a pure-play Bitcoin Ordinals marketplace. Gamma is another Ordinals marketplace that ties directly into Bitcoin’s Layer 1 chain. Ordswap was an early Ordinals marketplace that has since shut down after losing control of its website to hackers. Multichain platforms like Magic Eden Bitcoin Ordinals now feature NFTs prominently.
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