Ordinals drive ‘positive momentum’ in Bitcoin innovation — Franklin Templeton

While the asset manager explained the potential of Ordinals, it also noted that they could lose value and are not insured.

Asset manager Franklin Templeton’s digital assets division published a note to its investors briefly introducing Bitcoin-based nonfungible tokens (NFTs). 

Franklin Templeton Digital Assets said that the Bitcoin Ordinals protocol primarily drove a positive momentum in innovation within Bitcoin.

The asset manager said there has been a “renaissance in activity” on Bitcoin (BTC) in the past year because of Ordinals.

The asset manager also mentioned new fungible token standards like BRC-20 and Runes, Bitcoin-based layer-2 networks and Bitcoin decentralized finance (DeFi) primitives as contributors to driving Bitcoin innovation.

The asset manager also recognized that activities within the Bitcoin NFT space are accelerating. Franklin Templeton pointed out the increase in dominance for Bitcoin within the entire NFT ecosystem. The company wrote:

“Bitcoin Ordinals have seen a surge in trading volume over the past several months. This is reflected in an increase in dominance starting in December of 2023 when it surpassed ETH in trading volume.”

Furthermore, the asset manager highlighted several Bitcoin Ordinals collections starting to “dominate” the NFT space in trading volume and market capitalization. This included NodeMonkes, Runestone, Bitcoin Puppets, Ordinal Maxi Biz and Bitmap.

While the asset manager seemed optimistic about Ordinals, it also highlighted in the note that these assets may lose value and have no bank guarantee.

Franklin Templeton also noted that Ordinals assets are not insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC).

In addition, the asset manager reminded its investors that “all investments involve risks, including the loss of capital.” The firm wrote that digital assets are subject to risks because of its “immature” and rapidly developing technology and its vulnerabilities.

Related: Ordinals trader gets Bitcoin back after fat-fingered NFT purchase

Franklin Templeton has been introducing its investors to multiple niches within the crypto space. On March 14, the firm went “full degen” by publishing an investor note on memecoins.

The company recognized the potential of memecoins to produce quick profits but also noted that they had “no inherent value.”

Franklin Templeton was one of exchange-traded fund (ETF) issuers that launched a spot Bitcoin ETF in the United States earlier this year.

The firm has also participated in the race for a spot Ether ETF. On Feb. 12, the company submitted an S-1 filing with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).