Even with all the buzz surrounding the highly anticipated Bitcoin halving, it was Casey Rodamor’s latest creation, Runes, that caught everyone’s attention, even among veteran blockchain developers who usually steer clear of digital tokens on the platform.
Rodamor gained fame for releasing Ordinals, a protocol enabling people to ‘inscribe’ data on the smallest bitcoin units (satoshis), creating valuable assets on Bitcoin and igniting a resurgence in developer activity. Runes follows a similar concept, allowing people to ‘etch’ and mint tokens on-chain. However, unlike Ordinals, Runes will function more like meme coins, which have recently surged in popularity in the crypto markets.
The first Runes project to mint was Rodamor’s UNCOMMON•GOODS, announced well before the halving, along with numerous other projects vying to make their mark on these coveted satoshis.
Nearly nine blocks after the halving, Runes minters had already spent a whopping 78.6 BTC (~$4.95 million) in fees to acquire the rarest tokens, hinting at the potential for Runes to boost Bitcoin’s fee economy, much like Ordinals did.
The viability of a Runes project is somewhat subjective. Early listing and ticker quality are key factors. Projects like DOG•GO•TO•THE•MOON, dubbed “Rune Number 3,” hold appeal, but buyers also assess ticker quality.
Several Runes projects began minting before the halving, including DOG•DOG•DOG•DOG•DOG, MEME•ECONOMICS, SHORT•THE•WORLD, and PEPE•WIT•HONKERS, among others.
Discussions among users and speculators in an X Space hosted by Ordinals collector Leonidas revolved around which Runes to mint and trading ticker names, including mentions of Taproot Wizards and a project named after Bitcoin’s creator, Satoshi Nakamoto.
Predicting the long-term value of these projects remains challenging. Some traders are skeptical, highlighting the difficulty in finding quality memes within the 13-character limit imposed by Runes.
Pre-mined tokens, reserved by project creators for potential future release, also impact value. Projects pre-mining over 10% of the token supply were deemed “greedy” by some traders.
The future of Runes tickers remains uncertain, with plans to allow shorter names over time. However, one developer has already secured future ticker names like ZZZZ, ZZ, and Z, raising questions about the strategy’s effectiveness.
As the Runes protocol unfolds, uncertainty prevails. Leonidas, reflecting on the chaos, emphasizes the excitement of witnessing the birth of a new protocol and the unpredictable journey ahead.
