The Surge of the Inscription Trend: Bitcoin and Cosmos Taking the Lead

1. What is Inscription?

Inscription is the process of etching data onto the smallest unit of a blockchain, effectively converting it into a type of NFT permanently housed within that specific blockchain. This data can encompass various formats such as text, images, videos, or any other informational fragment.

In the context of Bitcoin, inscription involves engraving data onto the satoshi unit – the smallest unit of Bitcoin. This intricate procedure transforms satoshis into NFTs that encapsulate the inscribed data.

Inscription has shattered preconceived notions and traditional beliefs about the Bitcoin blockchain, dispelling myths such as:

The impossibility of creating tokens on the Bitcoin blockchain.
The incapability to develop and foster DeFi projects on Bitcoin.
Various other entrenched biases.

The implementation of inscription has led to a substantial increase in transaction fees on the Bitcoin network, generating significant revenue for miners. This surge in earnings for miners could potentially address concerns related to the diminishing block reward and provide a lucrative avenue for their continued participation in the network.

2. Overview of Inscription on Bitcoin

The surge in inscription's popularity stems from the creation of the first tokens within the Bitcoin ecosystem. Following the introduction of the first BRC20 token, ORDI, which symbolized the inception of this trend on Bitcoin, being listed on centralized exchanges, especially Binance, triggered a boom in BRC20 tokens' prices. Subsequently, various technological platforms were launched to support these tokens.

Some of the most prominent BRC20 tokens include:

ORDI: Being the first minted BRC20 token, ORDI has a total supply of 21 million, equivalent to Bitcoin's total supply. Post-listing on Binance, the price of each ORDI reached an all-time high of $83, elevating ORDI's market capitalization to $1.7 billion.
SATS: SATS gained popularity by being based on the smallest unit of BTC (satoshi). Listed on Binance as well, SATS has a total supply of 2.1 trillion SATS, and at its peak, the token's market capitalization touched $1.8 billion.

Despite currently experiencing a downtrend, tokens emerging from the inscription trend continue to garner significant attention from the community, hinting at a future where a thriving DeFi ecosystem will indeed emerge on Bitcoin.

In line with the explosive growth of BRC20 tokens, supporting markets and applications have made substantial contributions:

The first and early-market Unisats.
The current popular OKX market.
The relatively large Magic Eden market.

All these markets allow users to buy, sell, and trade BRC20 tokens after connecting with relevant wallets.

3. Top Inscription Platforms

Following its widespread adoption on Bitcoin, the inscription trend has gradually expanded and become prevalent across various contemporary blockchains.

3.1. Cosmos Hub

With a technological framework akin to Bitcoin, the Cosmos Hub blockchain has gained popularity, primarily due to the Cosmos SDK. However, it appears that the native token, ATOM, does not enjoy substantial benefits due to the perceived weakness of the ecosystem surrounding ATOM.

The introduction of inscription has propelled Cosmos Hub further into the development of its DeFi ecosystem, opening up new possibilities for the platform. Tokens created on the Cosmos Hub blockchain adhere to the CFT-20 standard, reflecting advancements in the blockchain's functionality.

Delphi Digital, an organization dedicated to supporting the early-stage development of Cosmos, has collaborated with Redphone, credited as one of the pioneers proposing inscription on Bitcoin, to develop the Asteroids Protocol and the $ROIDS token.

This collaboration anticipates the gradual evolution of the protocol, attracting liquidity to the Cosmos Hub and officially establishing itself as a DeFi Hub on this platform.

Here are some details about Asteroids:

Token: ROIDS
Standard: CFT-20
Website: Asteroids Protocol
Max Supply: 100,000,000 ROIDS
Minting Price: Free
Trading Market: ROIDS Market

Some other notable tokens in the Cosmos Hub ecosystem include:

STAKE
ROIDS
VEGGS
RUNES

3.2. Solana

Discussing the rapid advancements and developments in Solana cannot be overlooked, especially in the upcoming years of 2023 and 2024. The Solana ecosystem has also adopted the trend of inscription, albeit not as robustly, gaining attention in the process.

The inscription standard on Solana is SPL-20 (or Solana Program Library 20). Details about this standard and prominent inscription projects have been updated by Theblock101 on this link.

3.3. Celestia

The explosive growth of the "modular blockchain" concept and the Stake To Earn trend cannot ignore the significant contributions from Celestia. As the inscription trend flourishes, many developers are capitalizing on Celestia's lucrative opportunities amid a strong capital influx into this protocol.

One of the standout inscriptions on Celestia is CIAS. Here are some basic details:

Ticker: CIAS
Total Supply: 21 billion
Website and Marketplace Link: Celestia Marketplace

3.4. Linea

The surge in inscription trends cannot be disregarded in the Linea blockchain, built by Consensys – the company behind the wallet for current EVM blockchains like Metamask.

Particle Network, an AA-structured infrastructure project, has collaborated with over 50 projects to form an organization called The People's Alliance. This organization subsequently released the ALLY token, the first inscription token on the Linea network, with support from the mentioned projects.

Users perform social tasks and receive tickets to mint ALLY. Some information about ALLY:

Ticker: ALLY
Blockchain: Linea
Total Supply: 21 billion
Trading Market: ALLY Marketplace

According to project information, ALLY holders have the opportunity to participate in the launchpad of the projects within the aforementioned organization and have a chance to receive airdrops from Linea.

3.5. Sui Blockchain

As a newcomer exploding in the DeFi space with TVL consistently surpassing non-EVM blockchains like Bitcoin and Cardano, and rising to second place behind Solana, the Sui blockchain does not ignore the inscription trend.

Inscription platforms on Sui experience a surge in minting and interactions with the blockchain, reaffirming the resilience of this blockchain. At its peak, the inscription activity on Sui forced the blockchain to process over 10 million transactions daily, yet it did not cause congestion or push transaction fees higher.

Some information about inscription on Sui:

Platform: Suimint
Trading Market: Suimint Marketplace

In addition to the mentioned blockchains, other blockchains are also catching up with the inscription trend, including Dogecoin, Ethereum, Aptos, Arbitrum, but they are not overly prominent.

4. Bitcoin and Cosmos taking the lead in the Inscription game

For other blockchains, the development of inscription does not significantly impact the ecosystem. However, for Bitcoin and Cosmos, this is one of the most crucial advancements for these two blockchains.

The benefits that inscription brings are manifold:

Direct token creation on blockchains without smart contract support: BRC20 (Bitcoin) and CFT20 (Cosmos Hub).
Construction of liquidity protocols and the development of the DeFi ecosystem, enabling BTC and ATOM to integrate into various applications, enhancing the utility of the underlying platform coins.
For Bitcoin: Increased rewards for miners, incentivizing them to contribute to the network's security in the long term, while continuous revenue growth occurs.
For Cosmos Hub: Facilitation of cost-effective DeFi applications, channeling funds into ATOM with additional profit potential and retaining the funds within the ecosystem.

The development of inscription holds particular significance for the long-term aspects of these two blockchains, encompassing both the economic facets of the platform coins and the broader ecosystem.

5. Conclusion

The explosion of inscription originating from Bitcoin will not merely halt at the advancements this technology brings. With inscription, the vast liquidity pool from Bitcoin and Cosmos Hub will gradually unlock, ushering in a new era for the hundreds of billions of dollars awaiting utilization. Stay tuned to Theblock101 for further updates on inscription.

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