With BRC-20 Becoming A New Blue Ocean, Is Bitcoin Becoming "Ethereumized"?

Less than a month after the successful upgrade of Ethereum, the market trend has shifted from LSD to Aribram airdrop and then to the memecoin PEPE. In recent days, with the BRC-20 token and ORDI, many people are complaining that they are increasingly unable to understand the market trend, while operating wildly in BRC-20 token trading. The Federal Reserve’s interest rate hikes and successive local bank failures are no longer discussed within the industry, and the cryptocurrency market seems to be taking its own path.

Online Growth Rate Exceeds 1,000%, BRC-20 Becomes A New Blue Ocean

The world’s first BRC-20 token, ORDI, rose by over 1,200% within 24 hours after being launched for Gate.io trading on May 8, 2023, with a current price of $24.7. Meanwhile, the level of discussion on social media continues to rise, and overnight the crypto space once again becomes “lively”, with a continuous stream of new narrative arguments and speculations.

To understand what BRC-20 is, it is necessary to first understand what the Ordinals protocol is. The Ordinals protocol is a for numbering satoshis, giving each satoshi a serial number and tracking them across transactions, so that each satoshi has an ID. Users can then connect images, text, videos, or codes with satoshi’s numbers, giving satoshi its unique and non-fungible characteristics, which means that Bitcoin networks have the ability to mint NFTs.

ORDI is a BRC-20 token, which is a protocol based on the Ordinals protocol to create and issue fungible tokens on the Bitcoin network. ORDI is the world’s first BRC-20 token. The total number of ORDIs is 21 million, and everyone can mint this token for free on a first come, first served basis.

Is BRC-20 “Ethereumizing” Bitcoin?

The Ordinals protocol has expanded the new possibilities of Bitcoin networks, giving them the ability to mint NFTs. The BRC-20, similar to the ERC-20 of the Ethereum network, specifies the names and quantities of tokens issued on the network. Is BRC-20 “Ethereumizing” Bitcoin?

Not at all!

Firstly, NFTs on Bitcoin are more decentralized compared to NFTs on Ethereum. The NFT minted on Ethereum can only store some metadata (titles, release times, certain features of the work, etc.) on the chain, not the actual content. The NFT on the Bitcoin network (size ≤ 4M) is completely stored on the chain, and in this regard, Bitcoin NFT is closer to the essence of NFT than Ethereum NFT. The once glorious situation of controlling multiple floor prices immediately after NFT minting on Ethereum is gone, with a decrease in trading volume and a sharp drop in prices becoming the norm, including Bored Ape Yacht Club and CryptoPunks. Bitcoin NFT may be a major blow to the currently moribund Ethereum NFT.

Since January 1, 2022, the Forkast 500 has fallen by over 88% - Source: Forkast NFT 500 index

Secondly, unlike Ethereum ERC-20, BRC-20 can only create MEME due to its diverse possibilities. This may sound like a disadvantage, but in fact, it’s not. We have witnessed the trend of MEME countless times, and the zero threshold recognition and empathy trend of MEME-type tokens are the best advantages in online communication. You can’t expect every online surfer in front of the screen to be a passionate crypto enthusiast who can carefully read the white paper hundreds of times from front to back, which is the foundation of human nature and the internet.

When we talk about the fairness and decentralization of blockchain networks, we may need to realize that ‘cognition’ is also an injustice. MEME is largely a product of rebellion against this unfairness.

What Other BRC-20 Tokens Are There?

As of 12:00 on May 9, over 14,000 BRC-20 tokens have been deployed, with a total market value of over $700 million and 24-hour trading volume of over $200 million. Among them, ORDI ranks first, accounting for nearly 60% of the total market value of BRC-20. In addition, the popularity of BRC-20 tokens such as MEME, PEPEBRC, PIZA, and NALS is also constantly increasing. Currently, MEME, PEPEBRC and PIZABRC have been listed on Gate.io.

Bitcoin Itself Is The Best Narrative

Bitcoin itself is the best narrative, mystery, hope, innovation, passion, equality, fun, security, and other emotions and imaginations that can be infused into Bitcoin, and the crypto space never lacks narratives. What is lacking is narratives that can be told for a long time. It’s acceptable to say that BRC-20 is like “a withered tree coming to life again”, “an old tree that blooms” or “new wine in old bottles”. Someone willing to listen is the most important thing.

Simple enough, honest enough, consensus based and controversial enough to pave the way for BRC-20 to go viral, coupled with the increasing demand for Bitcoin block space from Ordinal, miners have received more income than mining revenue, making up for the reduced revenue brought by Bitcoin halving. Miners may strongly support the development of BRC-20 and Bitcoin NFT. Once a closed-loop is formed, is a sound eco still far away?