The inventor of Bitcoin Ordinals is proposing a new Bitcoin-based fungible token protocol as a potential alternative to the BRC-20 token standard.<\/p>\n
The BRC-20 standard was launched in March by anonymous developer \u201cDomo.\u201d Within two months, the BRC-20 market cap reached $1 billion<\/a>,\u00a0with PEPE and ORDI among the most notable BRC-20 tokens created on Bitcoin.<\/p>\n New terrible idea just dropped: Runes.<\/p>\n A worse-is-better fungible token protocol for Bitcoin.https:\/\/t.co\/TPVrUvWxm8<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Casey (@rodarmor) September 25, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n BRC-20 enables the minting and transfer of fungible tokens via the Ordinals protocol on Bitcoin<\/a>. But the issue with BRC-20 tokens is that they spam Bitcoin with \u201cjunk\u201d unspent transaction outputs, or UTXOs, argues Rodarmor.<\/p>\n BRC-20 tokens have the \u201cundesirable consequence of UTXO proliferation,\u201d he\u00a0explained<\/a> in a Sept. 25 blog post, proposing Runes as a UTXO-based alternative.<\/p>\n \u201cProtocols that are UTXO-based fit more naturally into Bitcoin and promote UTXO set minimization by avoiding the creation of \u2018junk\u2019 UTXOs.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n TLDR on Runes – A potential fungible token protocol for Bitcoin<\/p>\n \u16b1\u16a2\u16be\u16d6\u16ca<\/p>\n – Casey remains skeptical, citing “99.9% are scams and memes,” but recognises they don’t appear to be going away. \u2014 Franken (@ItsFranken) September 25, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n \u201cIf this protocol had a small on-chain footprint and encouraged responsible UTXO management, it might serve as harm reduction compared to existing protocols,\u201d Rodarmor added.<\/p>\n UTXOs represent the amount of cryptocurrency left in a wallet following a completed transaction, where the balance is used in subsequent transactions and is stored in the UTXO database.<\/p>\n Bitcoin\u2019s UTXO model<\/a> plays a role in making Bitcoin an auditable and transparent ledger by preventing the double-spending problem.<\/p>\n Rodarmor said other fungible token protocols on Bitcoin, such as Really Good for Bitcoin, Counterparty and Omni Layer,\u00a0have problems of their own<\/a>.<\/p>\n While Rodarmor admitted 99.9% of fungible tokens are filled with scams and memes, he believes the right fungible token protocol can add value to the Bitcoin network:<\/p>\n \u201cCreating a good fungible token protocol for Bitcoin might bring significant transaction fee revenue, developer mindshare, and users to Bitcoin.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Related: <\/em><\/strong>Ordinals still make up majority of Bitcoin txs despite price collapse <\/em><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n In a Sept. 25 Twitter Spaces with The Ordinals Show<\/em> co-host Trevor Owens, Rodarmor said<\/a> he came up with the Runes idea last week and that he wasn\u2019t sure whether he would pursue it any further.<\/p>\n Shortly after the call, Owens floated offering $100,000 from the Bitcoin Frontier Fund to prospective developers who can get a Rune application up and running as a means to further Rodarmor\u2019s proposal.<\/p>\n Open $100k investment offer in upcoming @BTCFrontierFund<\/a> accelerator for first team who can get a working (not terrible) Rune indexer, issuance and\/or transfer app, up live and running<\/p>\n Don’t make the tickers required to be unique, will be a shit show<\/p>\n DM me. Serious offer. pic.twitter.com\/6W0IwlhB9x<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 trevor.btc (@TO) September 26, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n Cointelegraph reached out to Rodarmor for comment but did not receive an immediate response.<\/p>\n Collect this article as an NFT<\/a><\/em><\/strong> to preserve this moment in history and show your support for independent journalism in the crypto space.<\/em><\/em><\/p>\n Magazine: <\/em><\/strong>Blockchain games aren\u2019t really decentralized\u2026 but that\u2019s about to change<\/em><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n
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– Employs a UTXO-based system, notably simpler than BRC-20.
– Uses the letter ‘R’ in the\u2026 https:\/\/t.co\/zYP43f70gh<\/a><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/s3.cointelegraph.com\/uploads\/2023-09\/a203ce9b-fa02-4f87-b8de-ab218b999fc1.png\" "\\"\\"")
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