Parent-Child Inscriptions: What Are They & Do They Establish Provenance

Parent-Child Inscriptions: What Are They & Do They Establish Provenance?

The concept of provenance is spreading across the world of Bitcoin-powered non-fungible tokens (NFTs), also known as Ordinals or Ordinal inscriptions. Casey Rodarmor, the creator of the Ordinals protocol, describes this new concept as a trustless approach to verifying the authenticity of Ordinals.

Provenance is achieved through the use of parent-child inscriptions, which make it possible to trace the origin and establish the authenticity and value of a digital artifact.

Read on to learn about parent-child inscriptions and the role they could play in the Bitcoin ecosystem.

What Are Bitcoin Inscriptions on Bitcoin?

In the context of Bitcoin, inscriptions are the metadata added to the smallest unit of BTC, satoshis. The metadata can be an image, text, or audio. These satoshis are numbered with the help of the Ordinals protocol, but these serial numbers are not part of the Bitcoin blockchain itself and serve only in the context of inscriptions.

"Uploading" various files to the Bitcoin blockchain was possible from the beginning of this network. However, Bitcoin upgrades such as SegWit and Taproot paved the way for the Ordinals protocol which simplified the process and opened doors for a new market of Bitcoin NFTs, often referred to as just Ordinals or Ordinal inscriptions.

As the market evolved, new concepts were continuously added to provide opportunities for Ordinals users. Among them are parent-child inscriptions. Let's learn what they are.

What Are Parent-Child Inscriptions Ordinals?

Parent-child inscriptions on the Bitcoin blockchain link individual Ordinals, allowing for the creation of a hierarchical structure. These inscriptions can be used to establish "provenance"- a record of ownership history and authenticity.

In the beginning, the Ordinals Protocol didn't have a standardized way to track which inscriptions belonged in a collection or who created them. Typically, this information was often stored off-chain or relied on social consensus, which had its limitations. The idea to implement parent-child inscriptions was officially introduced in September 2023 and now Ordinals users can verify the legitimacy of their Bitcoin-based digital artifacts.

It also became simpler to organize collections of these digital assets. Now, multiple child inscriptions can be linked to one parent.

According to Ordinals developers, an artist might first create an inscription to represent themselves. Then, they can add sub-inscriptions for the collections they make, with the actual items in those collections being the "children" of the sub-inscriptions.

For instance, the OnChainMonkey (OCM) NFT collection launched the first multi-parent collection in their OCM Genesis project.

Collections can inscribe all of their items as children under the parent inscription, which, in turn, could be burned. It guarantees that no other inscriptions can be added to the collection, helping protect its value.

This, for example, happened with the Runestone NFT project as it sent the original parent inscription to an address believed to belong to the Bitcoin creator, Satoshi Nakamoto. By doing so, they effectively "burned" the inscription which ultimately ensured that no further child inscriptions could be derived from it.

How Do Parent-Child Inscriptions Work?

Parent-child inscriptions create a permanent relationship that anyone can verify on-chain. This relationship, much like a family tree, creates a lineage for each inscription and should prove its origin and authenticity.

Here's how they work:

1. Parent Inscription: It starts with the "parent" inscription, which is the origin of all future ones. This inscription is a foundational piece and links all related future inscriptions.

2. Creating Child Inscriptions: Once you have a parent inscription, you can create child inscriptions. To do this, you need to include the number of the satoshi, on which the parent inscription is inscribed, in the child inscription creation transaction.

3. Complex Hierarchies: One of the features of parent-child inscriptions is their flexibility, as each child inscription can turn into a parent as well. This allows the creation of a tree-like structure. It might help organize digital artifacts, with each layer of the hierarchy showing different details or categories within a broader collection.

What Are Some of the Primary Use Cases for Parent-Child Inscriptions?

The main use case for parent-child inscriptions is to establish and maintain provenance for digital collections. For collectors, this system provides a clear, immutable record of ownership and history.

On-Chain Portfolio Management

Artists and creators can use parent-child inscriptions to build comprehensive on-chain portfolios. By linking all their works under a single-parent inscription, they can offer a cohesive collection that can be shared via a single link.

Complex Hierarchical Collections

The creation of child inscriptions that can parent others introduces the possibility of complex hierarchical structures. One of the examples is the on-chain games where parent-child inscriptions can be used to link characters, items, and achievements to cross-check milestones or game progress. It also enables layered collections where rarity and other attributes are encoded within the structure itself.

Generative and Recursive Art:

Combining parent-child and recursive inscriptions works for the creation of complex, generative art projects directly on the Bitcoin blockchain.

For example, OnChainMonkey's "Dimensions" uses recursive inscriptions for intricate 3D art that also maintains provenance through parent-child links. These recursive artworks not only enhance the creative possibilities but also make the artworks more efficient in terms of storage and block space usage on the Bitcoin network.

Collaborative Collections and Shared Ownership:

Unique to Bitcoin's ordinals, the parent inscription can be sold or shared, allowing multiple creators to contribute to the same collection, with each piece still traceable to its original creator. This might encourage new digital art forms and ownership models, where artists retain rights but join a larger, interconnected collection.

What Does the Future Hold for Ordinals?

Parent-child inscriptions are more than just a technical upgrade - they are a new way of thinking about how digital assets can be organized, verified, and traded on the Bitcoin blockchain.

The future of Ordinals also depends on new technological advancements. Recursive inscriptions, for example, let more complex data on the blockchain without causing bloat. Such innovations might encourage more sophisticated applications, such as on-chain games and interactive storytelling experiences.

In either case, the Ordinals market is expected to continue growing in the coming years, projected to reach $4.5 billion by 2025.

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