# How does it work?

A "mordinal" is considered to be the output of a transaction (the 0th output) that contains special data (tx\_extra\_ordinal\_register in the extra field) describing the fact that the output registers an ordinal, as well as storing any graphical and metadata associated with that ordinal. This data is open and transparent in transaction, so an ordinal explorer ([https://mordinals.org](https://mordinals.org/)) can use it to create a table of ordinals.

The owner of the wallet to which the transaction output belongs is the owner of the ordinal. As is known, in the Monero blockchain, it is not possible to determine the address based on the transaction output, so we added a meta\_info field where the owner can provide their contact information (if desired) or any other information. In order for such an output to be an ordinal and not just lifeless information sealed in the blockchain, we have defined a protocol for transferring the ordinal to a new owner, such that the ordinal explorer can track this.

This protocol should allow for the tracking of the actual transition of the ordinal to another transaction (to the new owner), as opposed to using this output as a decoy. To do this, we have created several outputs that obviously burn coins (and could never be actually spent) - outputs on a zero key, such as in this transaction: <https://localmonero.co/blocks/search/35ccad6e5f36a4320d1296ecb02ee34ce1591096658f236915943d2e55e43007> If only such outputs are specified in the set of decoys, then the ordinal explorer can confidently determine that a transition of the ordinal has occurred in a new transaction.

This small tweak to the Monero protocol should not harm the overall privacy of the network, but allows us to organize the transfer of ordinals between community members.


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