Summary
Since the introduction of ordinal inscriptions on Bitcoin and the subsequent spread of inscription-based protocols to EVM-compatible blockchains, a massive wave of new transaction types has emerged, pushing the limits of existing blockchain infrastructure. We present the first comprehensive empirical study of the inscription phenomenon on EVM-compatible chains, analyzing over 200 million inscription transactions across Ethereum, Polygon, BNB Smart Chain, and Avalanche. We find that inscriptions caused significant network congestion, with gas prices increasing by up to 300% during peak inscription periods. Our analysis reveals that inscription traffic exhibits different patterns from typical DeFi or NFT activity, with sharp bursts and rapid shifts between blockchains. These findings highlight the need for blockchain infrastructure designed to handle inscription-level traffic bursts.