- The Runes project officially launched on the Bitcoin blockchain on April 20
- The project has received widespread adoption with a meme coin dubbed DOG being among the first to use the protocol
- Its creator described Bitcoin as the “main event” and Runes as “a fun sideshow”
Bitcoin Ordinals creator Casey Rodarmor has launched the much anticipated Runes protocol that focuses on fungible tokens, especially meme coins. The launch coincided with the Bitcoin halving phenomenon that took place on April 20 cutting miners’ rewards by half. Although the project’s creator described Runes as “a fun sideshow” and Bitcoin as the “main event,” the protocol has gained widespread adoption causing a spike in transaction fees on the Bitcoin blockchain due to congestion.
A Mint Lasts for Four Year
Among the first Runes project was Rodarmor’s UNCOMMON.GOODS project which the creator said that its mint will end in four years or during the next Bitcoin halving. Unlike other fungible tokens UNCOMMON.GOODS won’t be divisible.
Other projects like a meme coin dubbed DOG have already gained the attention of prominent Ordinals fans like NFT historian Leonidas who described the coin as the “SHIB [and] WIF of Bitcoin.”
DOG is the SHIB of Bitcoin
DOG is the WIF of BitcoinIf you don’t believe me or don’t get it, I don’t have time to try to convince you, sorry pic.twitter.com/y2avbDfe1E
— Leonidas (@LeonidasNFT) April 22, 2024
The attractiveness of a Rune, however, differs among collectors with some choosing projects based on the ticker symbol, while others seem to consider the amount of tokens left in the hands of developers. In a discussion convened by Leonidas, projects like Taproot Wizards appeared to be the favorite of most participants.
DeFi Arrives on the Bitcoin Blockchain
Rodarmor noted that Runes is different from a similar project called BRC-20 because it allows the sale of “different quantities of runes” from an unspent transaction output (UTXO).
One advantage of runes vs BRC-20 is that if you have a UTXO which has some quantity of runes, you can create multiple PSBTs offering to sell different quantities of those runes from the UTXO, with runestones that transfer different amounts to the buyer and return the remainder…
— Casey (@rodarmor) April 21, 2024
Runes’ launch comes at a time when more projects are seeking to expand the utility of BTC and Bitcoin blockchain. BitcoinOS, for example, is among projects looking to open Bitcoin to DeFi.
With Casey Dodamor being behind the successful Ordinals project, it’s to be seen whether Runes will achieve the same level of success.
