ORDI (ORDI) is a distinctive cryptocurrency that operates on the Bitcoin network, notable for being the first BRC-20 token. This classification is derived from its utilization of the Ordinals protocol. The Ordinals protocol was developed by software engineer Casey Rodarmor and is designed to embed data, such as text, images, audio, and video, directly onto each satoshi, the smallest unit of Bitcoin​​.

The significance of ORDI in the cryptocurrency space is marked by its impressive market value, which exceeded $1 billion as of December 2023. This milestone positioned ORDI as the first Bitcoin BRC-20 token to achieve such a high market valuation​​.

The Ordinals protocol, central to ORDI's functionality, allows for the inscription of content directly onto each satoshi of Bitcoin. This method doesn't require a separate token, sidechain, or any modification to the Bitcoin network itself. The content primarily includes text and images, due to the size constraints of Bitcoin blocks, and these inscriptions can take the form of both NFTs (Non-Fungible Tokens) and tokens like ORDI​​.

To summarize, ORDI is a pioneering memecoin on the Bitcoin network, leveraging the Ordinals protocol to embed data onto satoshis. It has achieved significant market value, and its price has shown considerable fluctuations.