Battle Brews Between Runes and Blue-Chip Ordinals in Bitcoin Web3 Space

Following the recent Bitcoin halving event, Bitcoin miners experienced a surge in activity despite the significant 50% reduction in mining rewards. This uptick in mining profitability was attributed to the heightened demand and increased Bitcoin transaction fees facilitated by the Runes protocol. As a result, the Bitcoin Web 3 ecosystem is abuzz with renewed activity in April, with particular emphasis on the Runes protocol and Bitcoin BRC20 Ordinals driving this momentum

Bitcoin Ordinals Vs Runes

In early April, a notable uptick in Ordinals-related trading activity was observed across various marketplaces, as reported by QCP Capital. This surge was due to several key metrics, including transaction volume, daily user count, and the ratio of Inscriptions to ETH NFT volumes.

One potential driver behind this resurgence is the accumulation of inscriptions, which are slated to distribute runes to holders upon the halving event. Over recent months, holders of prominent blue-chip ordinals such as Nodemonkes and Bitcoin Puppets received airdrops of ordinals, granting them eligibility for receiving runes during the halving.

Additionally, the performance of other blue-chip ordinals has remained robust, with users actively seeking out ordinals airdrops that offer potential entitlement to runes.

Floor Price of Runes Projects Takes A Hit

Runes represent a fungible token standard native to Bitcoin, distinct from BRC20s as they operate within BTC’s native UTXO model. This design choice results in a reduced blockchain footprint, enhancing efficiency and alleviating congestion compared to BRC20s. I

In the lead-up to the halving event, runes have emerged as a notable sub-sector drawing significant attention within the Twitter community. Projects such as Runestones, RSICs, and RuneX have particularly captured the community’s interest, with an influx of new rune projects launched over the past 1-2 months.

However, despite the overall success of prominent rune projects, a noteworthy incident occurred on April 19 when the floor price of Runestone experienced a sudden ~20% decline within a 3-hour period. This drop followed an unexpected announcement by the project’s founder, @LeonidasNFT, regarding a crowdsourced raise, which prompted concerns and uncertainty (FUD) within the Runestone community.