Bitcoin Ordinals Guide 2026: NFTs on Bitcoin and the Runes Protocol

Bitcoin Ordinals allow inscribing arbitrary data on individual satoshis, creating Bitcoin-native NFTs. This guide covers how Ordinals work, the Runes fungible token protocol, and the ecosystem.

Bitcoin Ordinals, launched by Casey Rodarmor in January 2023, enable inscribing arbitrary data on individual satoshis using Bitcoin's Taproot transaction capacity. This created Bitcoin-native digital artifacts (effectively NFTs) without smart contracts — using Bitcoin's existing capabilities.

How Ordinals Work

Runes: Fungible Tokens on Bitcoin

Runes is the fungible token protocol launched by Casey Rodarmor in April 2024 (coinciding with the Bitcoin halving). Unlike BRC-20 (which used inefficient Ordinal inscriptions for tokens), Runes uses an efficient UTXO model native to Bitcoin. Runes created the first wave of viable fungible token issuance on Bitcoin without wrapping.

The Bitcoin NFT and Token Ecosystem