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Organizing the Ordinals family on Bitcoin.

2023-05-30 16:52

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Original author: #BRC-721 (@real_BRC721)

Ordinals protocol can be simply understood as a system that assigns a sequence number to each SATS and then attaches additional data (text, images, code, etc.), which is commonly referred to as "metadata" in NFT, to make each SATS a unique NFT. This process is called "engraving" or "recording".

"Cong" is a unit named after Satoshi Nakamoto, the inventor of Bitcoin. It represents the smallest denomination of Bitcoin, and one Bitcoin can be divided into 100 million Cong. Individual Congs were originally interchangeable, but once they are assigned an ordinal number, they become non-fungible tokens (NFTs) that cannot be exchanged.

According to the Ordinals protocol, the numbering of Satoshis is determined by the order in which they are mined, so the numbering can also give each one a defined scarcity. In an article discussing the Ordinals theory, founder Casey Rodarmot proposed a rarity table for Bitcoin NFTs, with the following specific classifications:

· Common: Any satoshi other than the first in a block (total supply is approximately 21 trillion).

· Uncommon: The first satoshi of each block (with a total supply of 6,929,999).

· Rare: The first Cong in each difficulty adjustment period (with a total supply of 3437).

· Epic: The first Conflux after each halving (total supply of 32)

· Legendary: The first satoshi of each cycle (with a total supply of 5)

· Mythic: The first Sats of the Genesis block (with a total supply of 1).

The proposal of the Ordinals protocol has enabled Bitcoin to go beyond its role as a store of value and means of payment, helping to break the ecosystem's homogeneity. Therefore, although it has only been less than half a year since its proposal, the Ordinals "family" has developed rapidly, and multiple branch protocols have emerged around Ordinals. These protocols have their own characteristics, enriching the connotation of the Ordinals protocol and providing more possibilities for projects developed on it.

Homogeneous Tokens

BRC-20

BRC-20 is a standard for issuing homogeneous tokens on the Bitcoin network, which specifies the name, issuance, transfer, and other functions of the tokens.

BRC-20 is based on the Ordinals protocol. When data is written to SAT and cast in a unified JSON format, homogeneous tokens can be generated. Therefore, the inscriptions on the sub-tokens identified on BRC-20 are all text data in a unified JSON format.

Taking the ORDI token as an example, the "deploy", "mint", and "transfer" operations in the "op" field represent the deployment, minting, and transfer of tokens, respectively. "Tick" represents the name of the token being executed, "max" represents the total issuance of the token, "lim" represents the maximum limit for single-coin minting, and "amt" represents the amount of tokens executed in the minting or transfer operation.

ORC-20

ORC-20 is an optimized version of BRC-20.

ORC-20 aims to enhance the functionality of the BRC-20 protocol. ORC2-20 is backward compatible with BRC-20, expands the functionality of BRC-20, and removes some limitations, making it better suited to project needs.

ORC-20 has removed the 4-character name restriction for BRC-20 tokens; added upgradability to the tokens, allowing project teams to add more functionality (such as reducing supply to increase scarcity); added advanced features such as minting whitelists and royalties; and reduced the double-spending risk of BRC-20 through UTXO.

In short, the ORC-20 protocol is more flexible than the BRC-20 protocol and has a wider range of applications. Its user experience is also more similar to ERC-20 tokens on Ethereum.

BRC-21 and BRC-42

BRC-21 and BRC-42 are cross-chain versions of BRC-20.

BRC-21 and BRC-42 are cross-chain solutions for BRC-20 tokens proposed by Alexei Zamyatin, the founder of Interlay, a cross-chain project. The aim is to connect BRC-20 tokens to external smart contract chains such as Ethereum, Solana, Polkadot, and Interlay in a fully decentralized manner, unlocking DeFi use cases for BRC-20 tokens.

BRC-21 and BRC-42 have the same functionality but opposite directions. Simply put, BRC-21 deploys assets from external blockchains onto the Bitcoin network, while BRC-42 deploys BRC-20 tokens onto other chains.

The deployment format of BRC-21 and BRC-42 is generally similar to that of BRC-20, with only some specific functional differences.

Take BRC-21 as an example. BRC-21 adds the src and id fields on the basis of BRC-20. The src field is used to specify the "source chain" of the asset (such as Ethereum), and the id field is used to specify the contract address of the target token on that chain. In addition, BRC-21 changes the max field of the total issuance amount to optional, because the total amount is generally already specified on the "source chain", and the lim field of the limit on the amount of single minting is cancelled, because strict minting and redemption rules are followed, and there is no need to impose restrictions here.

Non-Fungible Tokens

BRC-721

BRC-721 is an experimental standard for issuing non-fungible tokens (NFTs) on the Bitcoin network, which has richer functionality and greater flexibility compared to native Ordinals NFTs.

The BRC-721 standard defines a series of operations, such as deployment, casting, transferring NFTs, updating metadata, etc. Each token is assigned a unique identifier to ensure the uniqueness of each NFT, making it impossible to exchange one-to-one with other NFTs.

Using the BRC-721 standard, users can easily create, mint, transfer, and update unique digital assets, suitable for a wide range of applications, including digital art, collectibles, and virtual goods, etc.

BRC-721 can support saving images in IPFS and other chain-based services, which not only saves space on the Bitcoin network, but also provides flexible attribute information for each NFT. BRC-721 can support fields such as Trait, defining NFT attributes and rarity information.

In addition, the Token URI and Metadata specifications used by BRC-721 are consistent with ERC-721, which provides higher compatibility with the existing NFT ecosystem.

Therefore, compared to the native Ordinals NFT, using the BRC-721 protocol can achieve more complex functions, introduce external resources into Ordinals, have stronger scalability, richer application scenarios, and be more developer-friendly.

Generative BRC-721

Generative BRC-721 is an NFT protocol aimed at reducing the costs of issuing and minting NFTs for project parties and users.

Due to the fact that the Bitcoin network itself does not support smart contracts and the limitation of the upper block capacity, it is very costly for projects and users to issue NFTs like native Ordinals NFTs by directly uploading images. Storing data on off-chain servers also goes against the original intention of decentralization. Generative BRC-721 proposes a completely decentralized solution to solve this problem.

Although each NFT appears to be a normal image from the front-end, the project does not upload complete images to the Bitcoin network during issuance. Instead, the features of this series of NFT images are first separated, such as background color, head shape, facial expression, etc. These features are then numbered, such as purple background being #1 and gray background being #2. Finally, these features, along with an "index manual," are uploaded to the Bitcoin network to complete the issuance.

For users, it also represents the "index manual" corresponding to the NFT, rather than the complete image. Based on this "manual", all the features of the NFT can be found, and then combined to form a normal image (as shown above).

By using this "uploading only features and then combining them" method, Generative BRC-721 can greatly reduce the usage of the Bitcoin network during the entire issuance and casting process, thereby reducing the cost for project parties and users when using it.

Derivative

SRC-20

SRC-20 is a token issuance standard based on the STAMPS protocol.

STAMPS protocol can issue not only homogeneous SRC-20 tokens, but also non-homogeneous tokens, which are called Bitcoin Stamps.

BRC-20 is based on the Ordinals protocol, which involves writing arbitrary files into the witness data of Bitcoin transactions. However, this process allows nodes to prune or eliminate witness data, and not all nodes are required to retain or propagate witness data. In contrast, for the STAMPS protocol, since information is stored in UTXOs, every full node must store them, making it more "blockchain-native" than Ordinals.

Simply put, the biggest difference between the two is that ORC-20 stores data in the witness data, while SRC-20 stores data directly in the transaction data. Technically speaking, SRC-20 is considered to be more secure.

However, the disadvantages of SRC-20 are also obvious. Its storage space for data is smaller, and currently it can only accept images with a maximum of 24x24 pixels or 8 color depths.

The text used for deploying, minting, and transferring SRC-20 tokens is also in JSON format, similar to BRC-20 in terms of code format.

Fork

LTC-20 and DRC-20 are "forked versions" of BRC-20 initiated by the community on the Litecoin and Dogecoin networks.

Similar to the most primitive BRC-20 concept, LTC-20 and DRC-20 also provide users with the ability to "engrave" data such as text, images, and code onto their respective minimum unit tokens based on the Ordinals protocol.

Compared to BRC-20, the biggest advantage of LTC-20 and DRC-20 is the ability to process a large volume of transaction demands at a lower cost and faster transaction speed. Other than that, they are essentially the same as BRC-20.

In addition, another advantage of LTC-20 is the halving narrative. Litecoin is expected to halve in August. With the support of the BRC-20 wealth effect and halving narrative, LTC-20 may have a better chance of attracting market attention and funds.