Bitcoin Runes Launches on Halving: Here’s Everything You Need to Know

Bitcoin It's front and center again, and orange coin lovers everywhere have a lot to enjoy: New Always high pricesof The next halfIncreasing demand Turns– And soon, a new thing is called Runes.

And even though Runes didn't hit Bitcoin until the halving, when the supply of newly minted BTC is halved again by reducing mining rewards, the project is already gaining a lot of momentum and attention. Here's what you need to know.

What are Runes?

Runes is a new protocol from the mind behind Ordinals, Casey Rodarmor. With Ordinals, it allows you to create a Bitcoin generator. NFT– Just like “texts” on the Bitcoin network – and this, in turn, made it possible to trade jpeg on the chain of the grandfather with magic internet money.

In an interview with Rodermore TechCrunchHis Ordinals “Theory” is like “a lens you can look at the Bitcoin blockchain, and when you look at it through that lens, these trackable satoshis appear like Pokemon in the long grass. So, in this sense, Runes similarly represent a new lens through which to view Bitcoin—but this time, through shitcoins.

The Runes Protocol picks up where the BRC-20s left off. BRC-20 a fungible token standardHe himself uses the Ordinals protocol and is a pseudo-dev Domo. Runes is an attempt to make the process of generating coins on Bitcoin more efficient.

How do Runes work?

Plain or engraved inscriptions are inviolable tokens – special tags for storing information such as collectibles, art or trading cards – BRC-20s and Runes are fungal symbols. Fungible means that they are easily exchangeable, just like dollar bills that are no longer in wallets because money is now digital.

Like BRC-20s, Runes uses Bitcoin and pays fees to create new tokens in Bitcoin. The key difference between Runes and BRC-20s is that Runes, like Bitcoin itself, uses an Unpaid Transaction Output (UTXO) model as opposed to a token model – used by some layer-1 chains like Ethereum.

Many Bitcoiners believe that the UTXO model is superior, and the use of the account model is one of the reasons Ethereum It falls short. Rodermore himself believes that the UTXO model is superior because, among other reasons, other token levels tend to rely on on-chain data, but Runes will be completely on-chain.

With Runes, the issuer creates a token and sets a limit on how many people can cheat in a transaction. This way, the token creator as well as the community of buyers all have an equal opportunity to earn and buy tokens at the same time.

When will the Runes protocol launch on Bitcoin?

Rodermore took the launch of Runes and caused Bitcoin to halve. This means that both the Runes protocol and the various “runes” tokens being built on top of the protocol will go live when Bitcoin reaches the 840,000 block height. This is currently on or expected to be Around April 20even if Assumptions It varies.

“Halving” refers to an event that is hard-coded into the Bitcoin protocol and occurs every four years. It is intended to control Bitcoin's rate of inflation, and historically this phenomenon has been seen as a bullish indicator, often bringing more eyes to Bitcoin. After all, supply is shrinking and demand is growing, “how the numbers are increasing.”

And with Runes and a Half still more than 30 days away, several projects are eagerly building around Runes.

What projects are built on Runes?

Since Rodermore first announced the Runes Protocol In the month of SeptemberThere was a rush of activity at the Ordinals show to prepare.

Scream is the first and most popular project to launch. RSIC. RSIC is a group of 21,000 Ordinals that plans to launch a token called RUNE—which is an ERC-20 token launch, and it's sure to cause some confusion. There were RSIC systems He went down to the bags of air Limited ownership other As standard articles Casual maxi biz.

RSIC is a play on the word ASIC, a form of Bitcoin mining. Users who own the RSIC Ordinals text can use it to start “mining” their upcoming token.

Other notable projects have followed in RSIC's footsteps.

Runestone is an ordinal project created by legendary NFT and Ordinals connoisseur Leonidas. The project consists of 112,383 Runestone Ordinals with at least three articles thrown into each ordinal bag. In the year January 20, 2024 is the termination date– One year anniversary of the initiation of the Protocol of Ceremonies.

That The airport was launched on Thursday.And Leonidas said before Decrypt that each Runestone “converts” into Runes token. After the protocol is live.

Cross monkeys It's another pre-Runes project, which is a Nodemonks-inspired profile picture (PFP) from the “Runic Miner” rune (sold separately, some assembly required). Together, Cross Monkey and Runic Miner Ordinal promise “mine” runes if held in the same wallet.

RuneX It's a project that claims to build a decentralized exchange for Runes on Bitcoin, and it also has its own set of Ordinals.

Finally, the famous Bitcoin Wallet Xverse It announced Thursday that it has added testnet support for Runes.

Currently, there are many and many other projects in the space of Ordinals doing one thing or another with Runes, but there is one important thing to remember – Runes, the protocol, and then there are “runes” – symbols built on the protocol, anyone. How to create with knowledge.

Crucially, Rodarmore has yet to provide any information about the technical framework surrounding Runes. So any project that claims to be the “first” to launch runes tokens is currently taking on too much hype. Now that you're launching a runes-based token, it's like saying you're remixing an unreleased song.

Currently, the projects that claim to be mine planes are basically Running the “point program”.– but on Bitcoin. Keep the standard in your wallet, and you can start earning points for… er, mining runs.

What are the benefits of Runes?

It's refreshingly clear why Rodarmor started Runes. In a recent discussion on the “Hell's Money Podcast”. YouTubeThe developer made his idea very clear: “If Runes is successful, they will bring liquidity, technology, and attention away from other cryptocurrencies, and bring Bitcoin back,” he said.

He added: “The moment you understand that this is the gambling and entertainment industry, everything makes sense and everyone can be approached in a more honest way.”

Runes, as far as the creator is concerned, have no use beyond creating speculative properties, plain and simple. There is no lofty talk of facilitating teams or supporting developers with runways or runways for projects that build “future financial destiny.” A fair token allows people to invest in speculative assets, reducing the risk of default.

Of course, what other developers do with Runes Protocol is out of Rodarmor's hands once it's out in the wild.

“I'm not inventing a shitcoin,” Rodermore said during the interview. “I'm creating a place where people can create shitcoins, which is probably worse and more dangerous. We will see,” he said.

Edited by Guillermo Jimenez and Andrew Hayward