Bitcoin Ecosystem and Inscription Wave: Established Projects Revitalize

This year's main topic in the cryptocurrency field revolves around the rise of Bitcoin and the flourishing development of the inscription ecosystem. The price of Bitcoin has climbed due to multiple factors, including the prosperity of the on-chain ecosystem, expectations for a spot ETF, the approaching halving cycle, and the potential for interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve. At the same time, the large-scale entry of institutional investors has also provided a strong boost.

The inscription ecosystem, especially the non-fungible and fungible tokens represented by Ordinals, not only injects new vitality into the Bitcoin ecosystem but also spreads its influence to other public chains. Almost all mainstream public chains have developed corresponding inscription applications, and many existing projects have also taken this opportunity to rejuvenate.

Bounce: Bitcoin Ecosystem Auction and Layer 2 Program

Bounce Finance, as a multi-chain supported auction-as-a-service protocol, has recently launched several auction events for Bitcoin ecosystem projects. These projects have a low initial valuation, and previously issued project tokens can be used in subsequent auctions, creating a virtuous cycle that drives up the prices of multiple tokens, including the platform's native token AUCTION.

Taking the recent GoDID project auction as an example, the allocation plan of its token BDID covers project token holders across multiple Bounce platforms, reflecting the synergistic effects within the ecosystem.

In addition, Bounce also announced a Bitcoin Layer 2 solution called BounceBit, which is planned to launch in 2024 and aims to provide more possibilities for the Bitcoin ecosystem.

Uniswap Enters Rootstock

As a leader in decentralized exchanges, Uniswap has recently deployed its V3 version to the Bitcoin sidechain Rootstock through GFX Labs. This move is seen as an important expansion of Uniswap into the Bitcoin ecosystem.

Rootstock is a Bitcoin sidechain compatible with the Ethereum Virtual Machine, ensuring security through merged mining. It introduces a joint guarantor model to ensure the safe transfer of assets between Bitcoin and RSK.

As of December 19, the liquidity on Oku has reached $535,000, indicating initial market acceptance.

Magic Eden: NFT Market Reaches the Bitcoin Ecosystem

Originally focused on the Solana ecosystem, the NFT marketplace Magic Eden announced in March this year its expansion into the Bitcoin ecosystem. This move is an important step in its multi-chain strategy, further solidifying its position in the multi-chain NFT market.

Currently, NFT projects in the Bitcoin ecosystem, such as bitmap and Bitcoin Frogs, have ranked among the top in trading volume on the Magic Eden platform, reflecting the vibrancy of the Bitcoin NFT market.

Nostr: The Fusion of Social Media and Micropayments

Nostr, as a decentralized social protocol, underwent the NIP-57 upgrade in September this year, introducing a small payment feature called "Zaps." This feature allows users to make quick, low-cost small rewards or payments through the Nostr client, primarily facilitated by the Lightning Network.

As of now, the number of payments with Zap has exceeded 50,000, demonstrating users' positive acceptance of this feature.

ALEX: Embrace BRC20 and Oracles

ALEX was originally a DeFi platform on Stacks, and during the inscription craze, it developed a decentralized exchange called B20 specifically for trading BRC20 tokens. The platform also provides STX tokens to new users to pay for the ecosystem's gas fees and supports using sUSDT as the base currency for BRC20 token trading.

In addition, ALEX plans to launch the first Bitcoin oracle for BRC20 tokens, a move aimed at leading the decentralized consensus of the BRC20 index, referred to as the "indexer of indexers."

Inscription Development Across Various Public Chains

The concept of inscriptions has spread from Bitcoin to other public chains, with over 30 public chains having released or preparing to release inscription projects. However, on public chains that support smart contracts, the meaning and advantages of inscriptions remain controversial.

Taking Ethscriptions on Ethereum as an example, although it may have advantages in transaction costs, it may also introduce new security risks, and its functionality is not as flexible as traditional smart contracts.

Recently, the minting of the first inscription INJS on Injective has sparked controversy, reflecting users' expectations for free launches of inscription projects.

Summary

In the development of the Bitcoin ecosystem, various projects are seeking new opportunities. Bounce has developed a unique auction mechanism and plans to launch a Layer 2 solution; Nostr combines social and payment; ALEX focuses on BRC20 trading and oracle development; Uniswap and Magic Eden are expanding their business into the Bitcoin ecosystem.

The application of inscription technology across various public chains demonstrates its broad influence, but the value and security on smart contract chains still require further exploration and validation.