In-Depth Interpretation of Recursive Inscriptions: The Cornerstone of BTC LEGO Combinations and Complex Logic Products

Recursive inscriptions, as a significant recent update to Ordinals, open up vast imaginative possibilities for the composability development of the Ordinals protocol.

Recursive inscriptions are a type of inscription parsing standard. Creating a PFP collection inscription can be done by uploading the corresponding element features, allowing for combination and stitching without the need to upload or download actual images. Recursive inscriptions feature enhanced interoperability, reduced costs, and the ability to exceed the 4MB size limit for inscriptions.

Creative directions based on recursive inscriptions include: inscription disassembly and combination, Bitcoin music, Bitcoin chain games, generative art, decentralized websites, etc. This article details some typical cases that combine recursive inscriptions, showcasing the powerful potential of recursive inscriptions.

Recursive inscriptions also face some challenges: whether the off-chain rendering related parsers can quickly parse as the recursive levels increase; whether the off-chain rendering related parsers can quickly parse as the number of referenced inscriptions increases, and so on. Theoretically, the games or NFTs generated by recursive inscriptions can be infinitely complex and finely detailed. However, due to the limitations of the BTC network itself, it needs to be implemented through indirect technical solutions.

Recursive inscriptions allow inscriptions to interact with each other, enabling new use cases. The generation of art, on-chain displays, and efficient storage has become a reality. We can have high hopes for the deep adoption of recursive inscriptions in fields such as generative art, blockchain games, and the metaverse, believing that the next killer applications are in the making.

Ordinals Protocol Principle

The Ordinals protocol expands the product range of the Bitcoin ecosystem by providing numbering and inscription functions for Bitcoin, bringing huge application potential to the Bitcoin ecosystem.

The main principles include:

• Bitcoin UTXO model: All balances are stored in the UTXO list, and each UTXO contains quantity, owner information, etc.

• Ordinal number: A unique number assigned to each satoshi, numbered according to the order of mining.

• Inscription technology: Using SegWit and Taproot to embed metadata into the witness data of transactions.

• Submission and Disclosure: Create an output pointing to the inscription content by submitting a transaction, and then publicly disclose the inscription content through a disclosure transaction.

Principles and Characteristics of Recursive Inscriptions

Recursive inscriptions are a type of inscription parsing standard that allows inscriptions to reference the content of other inscriptions.

Main features:

• Allow inscriptions to reference and interact with each other
• Keep the volume compact through code, reducing costs
• Break through the 4MB size limit
• Enhance interoperability, programmability, and scalability
• Injecting more possibilities into the Bitcoin chain

Recursive Inscription Application Cases

1. 1Mask - On-chain generated art

• Integrating Ordinals recursive technology, consisting of three elements: templates, algorithms, and inscriptions.
• Propose the BRC721Auto standard to achieve fully on-chain generated art.
• Characteristics such as uniqueness, randomness, interactivity, and decentralization.

2. Orbinals - Geek Projects

• Based on Uncommon sat, using HTML and JavaScript programming to achieve celestial motion simulation
• Project information is hidden in recursive inscriptions, conveyed in a geek manner.

3. OnChainMonkey(OCM) - 3D NFT

• The first 3D NFT project to apply recursive inscriptions
• Achieve high-resolution 3D animation, with each file not exceeding 1KB
• Efficiently utilize blockchain space to achieve random on-chain disclosure

4. On-chain music generator

• Generate unique on-chain music by entering keywords
• Combining ChatGPT and recursive inscriptions to pay homage to retro video game music

5. On-chain games

• Snake, Link-Up and other H5 mini games
• MUD text-based role-playing game
• BTC PixelWar multiplayer collaborative pixel art game

Future Prospects of Recursive Inscriptions

• Open the era of on-chain inscription 2.0, enriching BTC NFT gameplay
• Form a large recursive inscription database to provide more operational and imaginative space.
• Expected to be deeply applied in fields such as generative art, blockchain games, and the metaverse.
• Facing challenges of increasing recursive levels and reference counts, technical breakthroughs are needed.

Recursive inscriptions have brought new possibilities to the BTC ecosystem, and we can expect the emergence of more complex product logic on-chain applications in the future.