Franklin Templeton Highlights Bitcoin Ordinals’ Role in Driving Innovation Momentum

Franklin Templeton’s digital assets division has issued a note to investors, shedding light on the positive momentum in Bitcoin innovation primarily propelled by Bitcoin-based nonfungible tokens (NFTs) known as Ordinals.

The asset manager emphasized the surge in activity surrounding Bitcoin over the past year, attributing it to the emergence of Ordinals. These NFTs have sparked a renaissance in Bitcoin innovation, accompanied by the introduction of new fungible token standards such as BRC-20 and Runes, as well as advancements in Bitcoin layer-2 networks and decentralized finance (DeFi) primitives.

Acknowledging the accelerating pace of activities within the Bitcoin NFT space, Franklin Templeton highlighted Bitcoin’s growing dominance in the overall NFT ecosystem. The company observed a notable surge in trading volume for Bitcoin Ordinals, surpassing Ethereum in trading volume since December 2023.

Franklin Templeton also pointed out several Bitcoin Ordinals collections that are gaining prominence in terms of trading volume and market capitalization, including NodeMonkes, Runestone, Bitcoin Puppets, Ordinal Maxi Biz, and Bitmap.

While expressing optimism about the potential of Ordinals, Franklin Templeton cautioned investors about the inherent risks associated with these assets. Notably, the company emphasized that Ordinals may experience value fluctuations and lack insurance protection from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC).

The asset manager reiterated to investors that all investments involve risks, especially in the digital asset space, given its immature and rapidly evolving nature, along with inherent vulnerabilities.

Franklin Templeton has been actively exploring various niches within the crypto space, including memecoins, which it recognizes for their potential to generate quick profits despite lacking inherent value. Moreover, the company has ventured into the ETF market, launching a spot Bitcoin ETF and pursuing a spot Ether ETF through regulatory filings with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).