The 2024 halving is a highly anticipated event in the world of cryptocurrency. However, this year, the introduction of the Runes protocol and the quest for the epic satoshi, the first satoshi of the halving block, will coincide with it. This convergence could potentially be an even more significant event in the history of Bitcoin (BTC).
The launch of the Ordinals protocol in December 2022 marked the beginning of the second phase of Bitcoin. This protocol brought about a cultural movement that had never been seen before on the world’s largest blockchain. It allowed users to incorporate images, audio, and code files into the Bitcoin blockchain.
Following the successful launch of the Ordinals protocol, developer Casey Rodarmor introduced the Runes token protocol. This protocol aims to facilitate the creation of fungible tokens on the Bitcoin network.
The Runes token protocol is set to activate during the halving. A competition for block space will ensue, with participants vying to be the first to issue tokens and come up with the most appealing token names. This will be followed by a battle to be the first to purchase these tokens.
Exchanges worldwide are already preparing to list the primary tokens that will be launched with the Runes protocol. Marketplaces and decentralized exchanges (DEXes) such as Magic Eden and OKX have announced their support for tokens created through the Runes protocol from day one.
The introduction of the Ordinals and Runes protocols has had a significant historical impact on Bitcoin. Unlike platforms like Ethereum (ETH) and Solana (SOL), which are known for application development and asset issuance and exchange, Bitcoin has traditionally been seen as a purposeless asset. However, since the launch of the Ordinals protocol, thousands of people have been using the Bitcoin network daily to acquire assets priced in Bitcoin. Over $3 billion has already been transacted through these Ordinals assets in just over a year, involving nearly 600,000 unique wallets and 2.5 million on-chain transactions.
The Ordinals protocol has brought about a cultural renaissance and accelerated innovation in the Bitcoin space. This period is often referred to as the second phase of Bitcoin. It has sparked discussions about decentralized finance (DeFi) and Bitcoin’s layer-2 solutions, drawing significant attention from venture capitalists.
The Runes protocol represents the next phase in Bitcoin’s evolution, building upon the momentum created by the Ordinals protocol. The halving block itself will be highly contested and lucrative, with one miner having the opportunity to collect an “Epic” satoshi estimated to be worth over $1 million.
To address potential congestion on the Bitcoin network, some projects are developing solutions to scale trading on the Runes protocol. Platforms like RuneChain, a Bitcoin layer-2 focused on Runes, are emerging to cater to the growing interest in navigating and building on Bitcoin.
As the market prepares for the launch of the first tokens created with the Runes protocol, users are becoming more educated about Bitcoin. Many are running Bitcoin nodes and familiarizing themselves with unspent transaction outputs (UTXOs) to gain an advantage during token launches. NFT communities like the Pizza Ninjas have made efforts to educate their holders about these topics, offering comprehensive guides and 24/7 help desks.
The market is currently experiencing a “pre-Runes season,” with some Runes-standard tokens being distributed through airdrops to Bitcoin NFT holders. Different collections employ various distribution models, such as taking snapshots of NFT holders or distributing tokens based on the duration of NFT ownership.
Users can also capitalize on the trend by purchasing BRC-20 tokens that will migrate to the Runes standard, such as WZRD and PUPS.
Bitcoin’s second season is approaching its climax with the launch of Runes tokens. These tokens will be historic and transformative, evoking a range of emotions and reactions. They are inevitable and unstoppable. Welcome to season two of Bitcoin!
Lugui Tillier, guest author for Cointelegraph and business development director of Lumx, a Web3 studio in Rio de Janeiro, contributed to this article. Please note that this article is for general information purposes only and should not be considered legal or investment advice. The views expressed here are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect those of Cointelegraph.