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On May 9, the total market capitalization of BRC-20 bitcoin tokens surpassed $1 billion, with a total trading volume of $207.7 million in the last 24 hours. Some of the more notable deployed tokens include ordi, nals, VMPX, pepe, and meme, with prices ranging from +11% to -55% over the last day.
According to analysts at multi-chain wallet BitKeep, the BRC-20 token standard is a new form of fungible tokens that “uses sequence numbers and labels to create and manage token contracts, mint tokens, and transfer tokens that are stored on the Bitcoin chain.” Sequence numbers is a numbering system that assigns a unique number to each satoshi or one hundred millionth of a bitcoin (BTC), allowing it to be tracked and transmitted. Meanwhile, the inscription process adds a layer of data to each Satoshi, allowing users to create unique digital assets on the Bitcoin blockchain.
The BRC-20 token standard was developed by a Domodata user on Twitter on March 8th. There are currently over 14,000 BRC-20 tokens deployed in Bitcoin, compared to around 400 million in Ethereum. Despite its popularity, BitKeep researchers wrote: “The creator of BRC-20 has openly stated that the standard is useless and that users should not spend money on the mass minting of this fun experiment.”
gm. I’m glad that some people like the experiment. Some additional notes.
1. These will be worthless. Please do not waste money mass minting.
2. Due to how some inscription tools are set up, the ‘balance’ may be minted to the intermediary address used in https://t.co/mja39YGIow…— domo (@domodata) March 9, 2023
On May 8, BitKeep announced that it will soon support the Ordinals Protocol and the BRC-20 protocol on its mobile and plugin extension platforms. A new Bitcoin NFT section will also be included in the BitKeep NFT marketplace, allowing BTC NFTs to be displayed, minted, transferred and traded based on serial number. The developers wrote:
BitKeep will continue to monitor new protocols such as BRC-21 and provide more diverse support and services based on market trends and user requirements.”
While TrustWallet is enthusiastic about its prospects, it does not support Bitcoin ordinals. Meanwhile, in February, MetaMask added a new feature that allows users to store sequence numbers. Cryptocurrency hardware wallet provider Ledger also supports the Ordinals protocol.
3/4 BitKeep will also be compatible with the #Taproot address format and support the BRC-20 protocol, providing asset display, transfers, and trading services for BRC-20 tokens.
— BitKeep Wallet (@BitKeepOS) May 8, 2023