Bitcoin Infrastructure Developer Nostr Assets Pauses Deposits Amid Record-High User Activity

Bitcoin infrastructure developer Nostr Assets has temporarily halted deposits due to an overwhelming surge in user activity. In a statement posted on Telegram on December 5, the developers urged users to await further announcements and refrain from making any deposits into Nostr Assets for the time being.

Nostr Assets is a service that allows users to transact Satoshis, which are 1/100 millionth of a Bitcoin (BTC), using the Lightning and Taproot Networks. Since October 30, the platform claims to have onboarded over 70,000 new users and attracted 280 Bitcoin in novel deposits, equivalent to $11.8 million.

Allegations of an Affinity Scam

In a tweet on December 4, Fiatjaf, the creator of the Nostr protocol, accused the Nostr Assets team of operating under an affinity scam. Fiatjaf clarified that Nostr Assets has no connection to the Nostr protocol itself and warned users against depositing any Satoshis into the platform.

The developers of Nostr Assets, however, dismissed the allegations as unfounded. They stated that while NostrAssets utilizes Nostr, Taproot Assets, and Lightning in its construction, it is important to understand that Nostr is a decentralized, open-sourced, and censorship-resistant relay network that anyone can build on.

Bitcoin NFT Sales Surpass $1 Billion

On the same day as the controversy surrounding Nostr Assets, the total volume of non-fungible token (NFT) sales on the Bitcoin network reached a milestone of $1 billion. Additionally, Ordinals, a meme token minted on the Bitcoin network, achieved a market cap of $1 billion.

BRC-20 tokens, invented by Web3 developer Rodarmor in January, have gained significant popularity as one of the biggest technological advancements in the 15-year-old blockchain. The Bitcoin Ordinals numbering system assigns a unique number to each individual satoshi, enabling tracking and transfer. Combined with the Bitcoin Inscription process, which adds an extra layer of data to each satoshi, users can mint unique digital assets on the Bitcoin blockchain.

It is important to note that the current token listed on Binance as ORDI is not associated with the developers of Bitcoin Ordinals.

As the Bitcoin ecosystem continues to evolve and attract new users, it is crucial for developers and users to exercise caution and conduct thorough research before engaging with any platforms or projects.