Ordinals, a protocol for creating NFT-like assets on Bitcoin, said its website was targeted by a distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack on Monday, affecting its ability to mint new inscriptions.
A DDoS attack is a malicious attempt to disrupt the normal operations of a website or service by overwhelming it with a flood of Internet traffic. Ordinals said the attack was launched from multiple sources and lasted for several hours.
NFTs On The Bitcoin Network
Ordinals, which claims to follow the original vision of Bitcoin's creator, allows users to create digital assets called inscriptions, which are similar to NFTs but use Bitcoin transactions instead of smart contracts. The protocol has generated more than 4.3 million inscriptions since its launch in 2020.
The attack coincided with a spike in Bitcoin transaction fees and a backlog of unconfirmed transactions, which some users speculated was related to Ordinals' activity. However, Ordinals denied any connection and said the attack was aimed at disrupting its service and harming its reputation.
Working to Restore Service
"We are working hard to restore our website and resume our inscription minting process as soon as possible," Ordinals said in a statement. "We apologize for any inconvenience caused by this attack and we appreciate your patience and support."
Some analysts suggested that the attack could be part of a coordinated campaign to sabotage the platform and undermine its credibility. They pointed out that the surge in transactions from the Ordinals platform could clog up the network and make it unusable for smaller players.
Ordinals, A Threat to Bitcoin?
"Bitcoin is under DoS attack. High transaction fees are the chosen pain point by the attacker, probably to make Bitcoin unusable for smaller players," tweeted iris.to/jogi, a Bitcoin enthusiast.
Others blamed Ordinals for creating spam transactions that wasted block space and increased transaction fees. They argued that Ordinals was violating the principles of Bitcoin and creating unnecessary congestion.
"Majority of tx's are currently just spamming the block space. They're all 152.5vb in size transacting precisely 0.00000546 btc. DDOS test?" tweeted Andrew, a Bitcoin miner.
Ordinal's Defense
Ordinals defended its protocol and said it was not responsible for the high transaction fees and the network congestion. It said it was using a legitimate and innovative way to create digital assets on Bitcoin and contribute to the ecosystem.
"Ordinals is not an attack on Bitcoin. It is a way to create unique and valuable inscriptions on Bitcoin that can be used for various purposes, such as art, gaming, identity, and more," Ordinals said in a blog post. "We are not spamming the network. We are paying the market rate for transaction fees and we are not affecting the confirmation times of other users."
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