In a recent Bitcoin Startup Lab podcast episode, anonymous developer Domo spoke about the origins and future potential of the BRC-20 token standard he created for Bitcoin. Launched on March 8, 2023, BRC-20 tokens, which were developed using ordinal inscriptions of JSON data, are used to deploy token contracts, mint tokens, and carry out other related tasks
Domo revealed that over 1 million BRC-20 inscriptions have been made since inception, accounting for around 6% of all Bitcoin activity. He first became interested in leveraging data science skills to analyze on-chain DeFi activity in 2020. After creating crude analytics tools to track top Uniswap traders, Domo made around $10,000 trading altcoins that summer.
The developer’s journey towards BRC-20 began with creating analytics dashboards for Ordinals Market and Sats Name Service using Dune Analytics. After seeing tweets hinting at the potential, Domo was inspired to attempt an on-chain Bitcoin standard for fungibility. Within two days, he had devised BRC-20 as a simple experiment and open-sourced the protocol.
BRC-20 immediately saw massive demand upon launch, with 50% of the supply minted overnight. Domo attributes the success to simplicity, ease of access via inscription tools, and timing shortly after the Ordinals announcement. Despite its success, the BRC-20 has faced some criticisms from Bitcoin enthusiasts, primarily on its technical merits, even though they continue to accept Ordinals.
Domo has outlined plans for gradual improvements to BRC-20, with a focus on maintaining social consensus and robust indexing in the Bitcoin community. He sees potential for “connectivity” between parallel Bitcoin standards via bridges, bolts, and wraps. Domo also noted ample opportunities to build indexing and analytics solutions tailored to Bitcoin meta-protocols.
During the interview, Domo encouraged Bitcoin Startup Lab hackathon participants to approach him with indexing tools or bridge/vault mechanisms for complex BRC-20 interactions. He teased a forthcoming initiative to consolidate meta-protocol discussion and development, starting with BRC-20.
Watch the interview in full on CryptoSlate above.
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Albert Liang is a visionary entrepreneur and educator with a deep passion for empowering founders and building communities in the blockchain and Bitcoin ecosystems.