So what is this "rune"?
The runes mentioned here are not the runes in "Glory of Kings"!
Bitcoin Runes is part of the Ordinals protocol, created by Casey Rodamor to provide an alternative to tokenized protocols. Runes' goal is to optimize existing tokenization protocols, including Ordinals, ORC-20, BRC-20, and Stamps, etc., through a UTXO-based approach to provide a more user-friendly experience.
Rune Protocol creates a new fungible token through the native Bitcoin UTXO model, bringing unique changes to the Bitcoin token ecosystem. It focuses on reducing the generation of "junk" UTXO and achieving more responsible UTXO management, thereby keeping the Bitcoin blockchain efficient and compact, focusing on seamless value transfer through Bitcoin transactions. This design cleverly solves the UTXO set expansion problem existing in protocols such as BRC-20 and Stamps, bringing substantial improvements to the field of Bitcoin tokenization.
The Runes protocol created by Casey emphasizes ease of use and provides a "harm reduction" approach by following Bitcoin's UTXO model, attracting more developer interest and potentially injecting more innovation into the Bitcoin development community. Its simple and attractive design is expected to accelerate the development of the Bitcoin token field and provide users with a more user-friendly experience without having to deal with native tokens or complex off-chain operations. This new type of fungible token, known as Runes, could become an important innovation on the Bitcoin network, driving the development of the entire ecosystem.
Rune Protocol introduces a flexible balance allocation and transfer mechanism by burning invalid protocol messages as a guarantee for future upgrades. What makes it unique is that runes use specific human-readable symbols and decimal configurations, and are issued and transferred without the use of native tokens, making the entire protocol simpler and easier to use. This not only provides users with a more intuitive way to deal with fungible tokens on the Bitcoin blockchain, but also lays the foundation for future development.
Although Casey's Runes protocol is currently progressing slowly, once launched, it will provide opportunities to grab chips, similar to ORDI, and is expected to bring corresponding wealth. Compared with protocols such as BRC-20's ORDI, the RUNE protocol is uniquely competitive among the entire inscription protocols. This is due to its status as being launched by the founder of ORDINALS, on which the BRC-20 is built. Paying attention to RUNE ALPHA is one of the currently high-profile agreements. Although it has little to do with Casey's rune agreement, according to official news recently disclosed, a consensus may have been reached with Casey. This development could bring more innovation and opportunities to the Bitcoin token ecosystem.
Rune Protocol currently only supports Mint and deployment functions, and transfers and market transactions have not yet been launched. Compared with BRC20, the biggest difference in deploying rune tokens on RUNE is that the deployer can receive an income of US$2 per rune token, while the Mint party needs to pay an additional US$2 to the deployer. Compared with the free participation of the Inscription Agreement, Rune provides a new incentive mechanism that attracts more high-quality project parties to participate in the construction.
Although the deployment mechanism of runes seems a bit inappropriate, it also brings a new way of playing to the project team. When choosing a deployment market, project parties need to consider whether they are willing to participate in construction in a revenue-generating market, or choose to participate for free in the Inscription Agreement. This decision depends on the strategic goals and profit model of the project party, as well as comprehensive consideration of the long-term impact on potential users and ecosystem development. This new type of incentive mechanism may introduce more interesting projects into Rune Protocol and promote the development of the entire ecosystem.