Bitcoin Runes is a new protocol for creating memecoins and other tokens on Bitcoin.
Runes aims to be more efficient than Ordinals, and BRC-20 tokens.
Runes allows for multiple token transfers in one transaction, unlike the BRC-20 protocol.
Franklin Templeton believes Runes could propel Bitcoin into DeFi competition with Ethereum.
One of the most important innovations in the crypto space from 2023 was the Ordinals protocol.
This protocol allowed users to “inscribe” data onto satoshis (the smallest unit of one Bitcoin), and create everything from cryptocurrencies to NFTs on the Bitcoin network—for the first time in Bitcoin’s 14-year history at the time.
This time around, Casey Rodarmor, the creator of the Ordinals protocol, is gearing up to launch another project.
He calls this project “Bitcoin Runes”, and has designed it to be more efficient when it comes to “memecoins and sh*itcoins” on the Bitcoin network.
Here’s everything you need to know about this new development.
At the time of writing, Bitcoin is on the verge of hitting one of its most important milestones in the last four years.
This milestone is called the halving and was concluded successfully just last week.
Interestingly, Rordamor has set the launch of this new Runes protocol to right around that time.
The Ordinals protocol wasn't without its challenges. What is now known as the "Ordinals war" happened sometime in Q3 2024, between developers who believed that the Ordinals protocol was "spamming" the Bitcoin network, and developers who believed that Bitcoin users had a right to send whatever transactions they wished.
Ordinals spamming the blockchain
However, at the end of the day, the Ordinals protocol is still going strong and has even contributed a staggering $256 million in revenue to crypto miners.
Runes are reportedly poised to build on the success of the ordinals, by allowing people to create and launch several kinds of tokens on Bitcoin, similar to those on Ethereum and Solana.
This move could even change the landscape of Bitcoin culture, which has always been suspicious of any tokens aside from Bitcoin itself.
“Runes were built for degens and memecoins, but the protocol is simple, efficient, and secure” Rordamor explained in a 1 April tweet.
Rordamor also explained that Runes are "self-contained and have no dependencies on ordinals or inscriptions, making it extremely simple".
This comes in contrast to the BRC-20 token standard created by developer, Domo in Q2 2023.
Runes are set to improve upon Ordinals and BRC-20s by offering a more streamlined method for creating and sending tokens.
In particular, unlike the BRC-20 token standard, which requires three transactions to perform a single token transfer, Runes allow multiple tokens to be transferred in a single transaction.
Franklin Templeton recently released a report.
In this report, the asset management giant says that Runes are set to propel Bitcoin into the world of DeFi, bringing Bitcoin face-to-face with Ethereum as a competitor.
Franklin Templeton on Runes
Moreover, considering how Bitcoin has an average market cap of around $1.2 trillion and a fungible token cap of $600 million, the flagship cryptocurrency is more than poised to “close the gap” with Ethereum, which has a market cap of $378 billion and a fungible token market cap of $499 billion.
In essence, Franklin Templeton believes that the Tincoming Bitcoin Runes might catapult the growth in Bitcoin's fungible token and DeFi markets to new highs, and launch something similar to the success of the Ordinals protocol.
Disclaimer: Voice of Crypto aims to deliver accurate and up-to-date information, but it will not be responsible for any missing facts or inaccurate information. Cryptocurrencies are highly volatile financial assets, so research and make your own financial decisions.