New Trends in the Crypto Assets World: Bitcoin Ecosystem and Inscription Boom

In 2023, the crypto assets market witnessed a strong comeback of Bitcoin and the flourishing development of the inscription ecosystem. The rise in Bitcoin's price can be attributed to multiple factors, including the prosperity of the on-chain ecosystem, expectations of a spot ETF, the approaching halving cycle, and the anticipation of potential interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve. At the same time, the large-scale entry of institutional investors has also provided strong momentum for Bitcoin.

The inscription ecosystem, especially represented by Ordinals, non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and fungible tokens (FTs), has not only injected new vitality into the Bitcoin ecosystem but has also influenced other public chains. Almost all major public chains have developed their own inscription gameplay, and many existing projects have seized this opportunity to rejuvenate.

Bounce: Bitcoin Ecosystem Project Auction and Layer 2 Plan

Bounce Finance, as a multi-chain supported Auction-as-a-Service (AaaS) protocol, has recently launched several auctions for Bitcoin ecosystem projects. These projects had a low initial valuation, but their performance gradually improved as the auctions progressed. Bounce's native token AUCTION played an important role in these auctions, leading to a price increase.

Taking the GoDID project as an example, as a market aggregator for decentralized identity (DID), the distribution plan of its token BDID fully utilizes the characteristics of the Bounce platform, including various methods such as using AUCTION to purchase lottery tickets, AUCTION staking, and early project token staking.

In addition, Bounce has announced the BounceBit program, which is a Layer 2 solution designed specifically for the Bitcoin ecosystem, expected to launch in 2024.

Uniswap Expands to Bitcoin Sidechain

As a leader in decentralized exchanges (DEX), Uniswap has recently deployed its V3 version onto the Bitcoin sidechain Rootstock through GFX Labs. This move marks an important expansion of Uniswap into the Bitcoin ecosystem.

Rootstock is a Bitcoin sidechain compatible with the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM), secured through merged mining. It introduces a joint guarantor model to ensure the secure transfer of assets between Bitcoin and RSK.

As of December 19, the liquidity on Oku has reached $535,000.

Magic Eden Enters the Bitcoin NFT Market

Magic Eden, as the main NFT marketplace in the Solana ecosystem, announced in March this year its expansion into the Bitcoin ecosystem. This move is an important part of its multi-chain strategy, further consolidating its position in the 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.

Nostr: The Integration of Decentralized Social Networking and Micro Payments

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 micro-tips or payments through the Nostr client, primarily enabled by the Lightning Network.

As of now, the number of payments made through Zap has exceeded 50,000, demonstrating the potential of combining decentralized social interaction with micro-payments.

ALEX: BRC20 Trading Platform and Oracle Development

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. ALEX also provides new users with STX tokens to pay for the ecosystem's gas fees.

Additionally, ALEX is developing the first Bitcoin oracle for BRC20 tokens, a project that has received support from multiple parties, including the founder of BRC20. This oracle aims to verify each BRC20 event and update the global balance in decentralized on-chain contracts.

Development of the Inscription Ecology of Various Public Chains

The success of inscription technology on Bitcoin has led to imitation by other public chains. Currently, more than 30 public chains have released or are preparing to launch inscription projects, such as Ethereum's ETHS, Solana's SOLS, Avalanche's AVAV, and more. However, on certain networks, the process of minting inscriptions has previously caused temporary network outages.

Taking the inscription of INJS on Injective as an example, its minting process has sparked some controversy, reflecting users' expectations for a free launch of the inscription project.

On the smart contract chain, the transfer of inscriptions may have lower transaction fees compared to traditional smart contract transfers, but it may also bring new security challenges and functional limitations.

Conclusion

The development of the Bitcoin ecosystem shows a trend of diversification. Bounce's innovative auction model has achieved significant results; Nostr has realized the combination of decentralized social networking and micro-payments; ALEX has made progress in BRC20 trading and oracle services; Uniswap and Magic Eden have expanded their business into the Bitcoin ecosystem.

Although inscription technology is widely used across major public chains, its importance and role vary by chain. For non-smart contract chains like Bitcoin, inscriptions have introduced a new method of asset issuance; whereas on smart contract platforms like Ethereum, while inscriptions may reduce certain operational costs, they may also bring new security risks and functional limitations.