Hash (SHA1) of this article: c1f17e328c427a08017550a51184272842efd021
No.: Lianyuan Security Knowledge No.110
Thoughts on the brc dispute!
From the issuance of BRC assets caused by Ordi last year to the layout of OKX Web3 wallet and the popularity of meme in the second half of the year, the pace of Aoan, including VC hot money, was basically late. Until the popularity of MOVE and ME represented by VC, Aoan completely gave up the inscription market in the past two days, and the two-point contradiction situation was truly established.
The BRC assets represented by the Chinese-speaking group and OKX, Unisat, and meme and other user groups, and the VC assets represented by the English-speaking group and a certain security and high market value and low circulation, are officially going in opposite directions.
Since April this year, there has been a wave of reflection on VC. From inscriptions to runes and finally to memes, all of them are the actions of the majority of users to "oppose VC", but what is the truth?
At present, BRC represented by the inscription market is indeed slightly inferior. The BTC ecosystem will definitely come. What is the most important thing is to break the embarrassing situation of BRC. Perhaps this war has just begun...
Are you ready?
Let’s first review the emotional shift in cryptocurrencies during this cycle.
After experiencing the ICO craze driven by Ethereum, the public chain war, the explosion of DeFi, and the craze of GameFi in 2021-2022, the crypto industry is entering a "dark moment". This is not an ordinary cold winter, but an "industry pain period" - it may directly "end on a cliff".
On one hand, there are successive black swans: LUNA collapsed, 3AC exploded, FTX fell, and Genesis went bankrupt, each more shocking than the other; on the other hand, there is a heavy blow from regulators: the US SEC and CFTC joined forces to investigate, and the crypto industry was besieged.
The bubble bursts, and the dream wakes up. The past revelry will eventually usher in a reckoning, and Bitcoin may be the "last dance" of this crypto venture. Those who can still hold on are probably relying on faith to survive. Most users keep asking themselves, what should I do? Why can my coin fall another 90% after falling 90%? Is encryption a scam?
It was not until December 2022 that Casey launched the Ordinals protocol, which directly opened the Pandora's box of the Bitcoin ecosystem. This protocol assigns a unique serial number to each satoshi (the smallest unit of Bitcoin), allowing users to "engraving" on the satoshi: whether it is text, pictures, videos, or 3D models, everything can be engraved.
These "inscriptions" can be stored in Bitcoin wallets and tracked like Bitcoin transactions, with all the characteristics of Bitcoin - immutable, decentralized, and permanently stored. Casey's original intention was to allow Bitcoin to store "eternal things", but it triggered a craze for "fair issuance of assets" and began to attract everyone's attention. Oh? It turns out that I no longer need to go to CEX or DEX to buy those "crypto assets" that can make VCs hundreds or thousands of times their profits without any cost and only talk about "stories". Their narratives are no longer mythical, and our interests need to be magnified!
Ordinals is not just a technological breakthrough, but also a spark that ignites a new way to play Bitcoin. Bitcoin is no longer just "digital gold", it is becoming a creative playground that can carry more content and the will of the user group to oppose the traditional VC model.
The vigorous construction of OKX and Unisat has promoted
In April 2023, OKX officially launched a web3 wallet that does not require private keys to be remembered, officially promoting the inscription market and transactions! The dual narratives of the Bitcoin spot ETF approval expectations and the halving cycle directly detonated the Ordinals ecosystem! BRC-20 assets instantly became popular, but the explosion also exposed the shortcomings of Bitcoin infrastructure - user demand is strong, but high-quality products cannot keep up.
To solve these pain points, OKX Web3 wallet has entered the market strongly, fully promoted the construction of Ordinals infrastructure, and also took the lead in formulating Bitcoin industry standards! At the end of May last year, OKX Web3 wallet launched the Ordinals market, which is completely decentralized, has 0 service fees, and smooth interaction, and supports one-stop transactions, transfers, and engraving of BRC-20 and BTC NFTs.
With comprehensive functions, top liquidity and user experience, OKX Web3 wallet has quickly become the preferred platform for Bitcoin ecosystem players! According to Dune data, Bitcoin Ordinals market transactions account for as much as 70%, ranking first in the industry.
However, what did An do at the same time?
Inscription Burst: The Cry of Users
By the end of 2003, the bull market started to boom, and no one could ignore this new force.
The inscription market is so hot that the entire crypto community cannot ignore it! As the first BRC-20 inscription crypto asset, ORDI has increased tens of thousands of times from the initial fair casting to breaking through $90 in less than a year! In May and November, ORDI was listed on OKX and Mouan successively, especially within a month after Mouan was listed, it directly took off tenfold! Subsequently, SATS was also launched on Mouan and OKX. The exchange's recognition of inscription assets has made more people look forward to the outbreak of new crypto assets.
The rise of Inscription is not only a surge in asset prices, but also a victory for the concept of "fair launch, fair distribution"! These concepts and publicity have exacerbated the division of users. Users shouted: Here, there is no insider trading, and there are no exclusive dividends for institutions. Inscription assets belong to ordinary users. Even institutions have to compete with us for encrypted assets!
The inscription craze has officially entered the public eye, but how can institutions spend their own real money to provide liquidity to users? All parties jointly suppressed it. First, the BTC core developer stood up and said that BRC assets polluted Bitcoin. At the same time, a certain security and overseas exchanges continued to maintain an ambiguous relationship. Some large exchanges in Europe, America, Japan, South Korea, Southeast Asia and other directions still remained on the sidelines about inscriptions, which also indirectly reflected the embarrassing reality of the inscription track.
There are several forces competing for the market behind the scenes. On one hand, OKX and Unisat strongly support BRC assets and develop web3 wallet entrances. On the other hand, old exchanges such as An are suppressing BRC assets in disguise because they lag behind web3 wallets. On the other hand, institutions such as VC do not want users to unite because of their own positions and interests.
The new product is the peak, and the whole network condemns it
The turning point of the incident came in March 24, when the inscription craze had dissipated, but opposition to the VC model has always existed. Looking back at the listing process of a certain exchange, the largest exchange in the universe, from December 23 to May 24, in the past 6 months, a certain exchange has been a tragic listing! According to statistics from researcher Flow, more than 80% of the crypto assets newly listed on the world's largest exchange, a certain exchange, have fallen badly, with only 5 rising, of which three are memes. When the price is in the premium stage, user emotions have not yet manifested. When the price falls sharply, the accumulated emotions of users begin to erupt. Major news media and major social platforms are denouncing high-market-value, low-circulation VC coins and boycotting the so-called VC, because participation is the apex and participation is a scam.
Although the inscription is silent, another "fair" pumpfun reappears
At this time, meme fairs represented by BOME raised funds to launch Pump Fun, a new generation of Meme fairs in the second half of the year, which set off an unprecedented anti-VC craze, and even Wall Street couldn't help but join the battle.
Those who have experienced the crypto cycle know that the downturn is not scary, but the so-called "value coins"/"VC coins" directly let users take over at high prices, falling from Mount Everest all the way to the Mariana Trench! The project side shouts about subversion and innovation, but wields a bigger sickle in their hands, cutting bloody with unfair wealth distribution. When the narrative bubble bursts, the bottom of the value coin is often longer than expected.
In contrast, the "randomness and fairness" of MEME coins have brought a high ceiling. From the perspective of utility, value coins are tools, while MEME coins are beliefs; from the perspective of fairness, MEME coins have begun to return equal opportunities to the market, getting rid of some of the shackles of "rat warehouses".
In the crypto world, the future of value coins and MEME coins ultimately comes down to answering two questions: who is fairer and who is more valuable. Projects that truly bring benefits to people are the only value. Fairness is the greatest consensus, and users can usher in a new chapter of their own!
The inscription remains, and the struggle continues
On the surface, the decline of the inscription market is due to the shortcomings of technology and the market, but in the final analysis, it is the game between crypto capital VC and user discourse power. The once fair narrative was defeated by reality, and the cry of users was exchanged for the indifference of institutions and the removal of a certain security. The sword and shadow of VC are still there, but users have begun to wake up. Inscription is a test, and the anti-VC struggle will never stop there.
Today's silence of Inscription may be the eve of the full outbreak of BTC ecosystem tomorrow. The fire of fairness ignited by Inscription is being relayed by MEME, and this war has just begun. The choice of users has never been so important - will you continue to endorse VC, or fight for a real future for yourself? The answer has long been written in the anger of every ordinary user.
The unfinished business of the inscription may be continued in the fair MEME craze.
