Bitcoin’s new fungible token standard most popularly known as the BRC-20 has grown by leaps and bounds since its launch in March by an anonymous developer named Domo.
Recent data from brc-20.io, revealed that the total market value of all BRC-20 tokens is around $991 million.
The new surge follows the launch of ORDI, the first such token, on leading exchanges including Crypto.com and Gate.io. Its market capitalization was $411 million at press time.
Other notable BRC-20 tokens include MEME, PIZA, DOMO, and PEPE [a separate token from the popular Ethereum meme token of the same name], whose rise is reminiscent of the meme coin hype of DOGE and SHIB.
Modeled after Ethereum’s ERC-20, BRC-20, or Bitcoin Request for Comment” tokens are experimental fungible tokens issued and transferred on the Bitcoin blockchain using the Ordinals protocol.
Unlike ERC-20, the Bitcoin alternative is not relying on smart contracts. Instead, they are created and transferred using the Ordinals protocol on the BTC blockchain, which allows for the inscription of data on individual satoshis.
Data from Dune Analytics revealed that the cost of Bitcoin blocks has increased due to the mooning and doubling of the number of inscriptions in the last 10 days. BTC transaction fees are therefore influenced by this and are currently at their yearly ATH of around $29,43 for a single transaction.
According to an analyst, the original intent of Ordinals was to support NFTs, whose adoption has been slow since their February launch. But now half of all BTC transactions are BRC-20.
It was a long time since the BRC network has seen such demand. We can not say for sure if it’s just meme-season hype or new reality but there are some issues we might consider.
Bitcoin’s BRC-20 Utility Expands
BRC-20 tokens are still in their nascent stage compared to ERC-20 tokens. However, they have quickly gained traction, especially for the creation of meme coins and other digital assets, and their potential applications continue to grow.
The expert expects to see a sharp increase in the introduction of user-friendly tools, wallets, and platforms that simplify the creation, management, and trade of BRC-20 tokens.
In the future there also might be an attempt to close the gap between the BRC-20 tokens used by Bitcoin and those used by other blockchains, such as the ERC-20 token used by Ethereum, as the crypto ecosystem continues to evolve, he added.