Bitcoin Core developer Luke Dashjr and Ordinals founder Casey have recently debated whether the upgrade of Bitcoin’s functionality can enhance the functionality of runes and inscriptions.
(Background:
Bitcoin rune trading volume dropped by 90%! Global miners only receive 1 BTC per day.
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(Background Supplement:
Satoshi Nakamoto’s “Bitcoin Complete Body” is here! Taproot Wizards: OP_CAT resurrection probability near 100%
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Expanding Bitcoin’s functionality has gained more attention in the market since Casey Rodarmor launched Ordinals in January last year, and has promoted the development of new projects such as BRC20, Runes, and numerous Bitcoin L2.
Recently, the OP_CAT code, which is expected to introduce smart contracts to Bitcoin, is also predicted by experts to have a high probability of being approved, which is expected to further enhance the programmability of Bitcoin.
The technical improvements to Bitcoin will also enhance the functionality of runes and inscriptions.
In this context, Casey stated on X today that runes and inscriptions, like Bitcoin, can be programmed, and improving Bitcoin’s functionality will also enhance the functionality of runes and inscriptions. Casey cited the following examples:
OP_CHECKTEMPLATEVERIFY (OP_CTV):
Can be used to organize open minting. It places the runes in a tree structure, which is expanded into UTXOs containing runes. The transaction will only be included in a block when the runes are truly obtained, preventing transaction fees from being paid without obtaining the runes.
SIGHASH_GROUP:
This feature allows flexible management of the combination of multiple inputs and outputs through signatures. For example, it is possible to sell different quantities of runes from a UTXO without the need to split the UTXO. This also makes it easier to upload runes to the Lightning Network.
Standardized Taproot Signature Annex:
In the past, when initiating inscription transactions, it was necessary to complete them in two steps. First, a commitment transaction was performed to reserve the tagged data, and then a reveal transaction was performed to actually write the data into the blockchain. However, after the standardization of the Taproot signature annex, inscriptions can be completed in a single transaction.
In short, Casey proposes these improvements in the hope of making inscription and rune transactions simpler, more efficient, and improving the user experience.
Luke Dashjr disagrees.
However, Luke Dashjr, the Bitcoin Core developer who previously criticized BRC-20 and Ordinals for bringing “garbage data” to the Bitcoin mainnet, disagrees with this. He stated:
The concept of Ordinals is to mark them as unique on the smallest unit of Bitcoin, Satoshi, which makes them no longer fungible and violates Bitcoin’s “fungibility” characteristic, and is incompatible with L2 solutions. Inscriptions are based on Ordinals, so they are also affected by the same limitations and issues.
In short, Casey claims that Bitcoin’s operability can be extended to runes and inscriptions in the future. However, the view of Luke Dashjr, a core developer, is that runes and inscriptions have already compromised Bitcoin’s fungibility, so he does not believe that these technological advancements can truly enhance inscriptions.
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