Introducing Rune: A New Token Protocol for Bitcoin
Casey Rodarmor, the creator of Bitcoin Ordinals, has developed a new token protocol called Rune. According to Rodarmor, Rune addresses the shortcomings of the popular BRC-20 protocol on Bitcoin.
Rune vs. BRC-20: How it Improves on Existing Protocols
Rodarmor believes that most fungible tokens on Bitcoin are scams and memes, but he acknowledges their popularity and revenue potential. He argues that if a protocol like Rune had a small on-chain footprint and encouraged responsible UTXO management, it could serve as harm reduction compared to existing protocols like BRC-20.
UTXO refers to the unused amount in transactions.
The Issues with BRC-20 and How Rune Solves Them
BRC-20 transactions faced criticism for spamming the network and causing congestion. In contrast, Rune’s UTXO-based approach aims to tackle problems like complexity, poor user experience, junk UTXOs, and the requirement of a native token for operation.
The Potential of Rune on the Bitcoin Network
Rodarmor believes that Rune can onboard more users to Bitcoin by avoiding dependence on off-chain data, running without a native token, and syncing well with the native UTXO model. However, he expresses concerns about scams in fungible token protocols on Bitcoin.
Hot Take: The Future of Token Protocols on Bitcoin
Rodarmor concludes by questioning whether such protocols should exist on the Bitcoin network at all. While Rune offers improvements over existing protocols, he views the world of fungible token protocols as “a near totally irredeemable pit of deceit and avarice.”