Just days after the release of the Bitcoin-based Ordinals protocol, its creator faced a shocking incident when a pornographic image was engraved into the blockchain. On February 2nd, at approximately 12:15 am UTC, an unsavory image known as “goatse” was inscribed onto the Bitcoin blockchain using the Ordinals protocol. The image appeared as inscription 668 and remained on the Ordinals’ front page for about 30 minutes before being taken down. Although it still exists on the blockchain, it cannot be viewed on the Ordinals website.
Casey Rodarmor, the creator of Ordinals, acted swiftly to remove the image from the website. However, he acknowledged that given the nature of the protocol, it is challenging to prevent similar incidents in the future. Nevertheless, he is actively working on finding a solution to prevent these images from appearing on the Ordinals website.
The “goatse” image depicts a man manipulating his anus and is notorious for its shock value, often used to deceive internet users. Rodarmor explained that currently, there is no way to hide specific inscriptions on the Ordinals website without manual intervention. However, he mentioned that they have added a configuration file to the explorer, allowing them to hide certain inscriptions and prevent their display.
Ordinals’ website features a simplistic design where each new inscription is showcased on the homepage. While Rodarmor plans to adopt a “very liberal content policy” that allows users to inscribe pornographic images, he intends to find a way to automatically keep such content off the first page, potentially by creating a separate section for them.
Some recent inscriptions on the Ordinals site have included images of Pepe the Frog, a popular internet meme. This showcases the versatility of the platform and the freedom users have to express themselves through their inscriptions.
Critics of blockchain technology have raised concerns about its immutable nature, suggesting it could perpetually host illegal or grotesque media. On the other hand, proponents argue that its resistance to censorship is a significant feature. When asked about the potential criticism Ordinals may face for censoring certain images, Rodarmor stated that his site is just one instance of a block explorer, and he hopes others will create their own platforms with moderation policies according to their preferences.
Rodarmor mentioned that this was only the second time he had to censor a pornographic image. He believes that the technical difficulties and costs associated with engraving an image onto the Bitcoin network have reduced the frequency of such trolling attempts.
Ordinals was launched on January 21st and immediately sparked debates within the crypto community regarding its impact on the Bitcoin ecosystem. The protocol allows users to inscribe satoshis, the native currency of the Bitcoin network, with various content, including images, creating NFT-like structures that can be transferred. The cost of inscribing a satoshi can be significantly higher than a regular network transaction, ranging from a few cents to a few dollars.