Author: Weilin, PANews
The Runes protocol in the Bitcoin ecosystem is currently experiencing a new wave of excitement, with a significant driving force being the rise of the DOG•GO•TO•THE•MOON (DOG) meme coin, which has seen a staggering 165.6% price increase within a month, reaching $0.008065 on the afternoon of June 7th. Additionally, there are rumors circulating about its potential listing on centralized exchanges.
Since its launch on April 20th, the development of Runes has spanned a month and a half. As of June 8th, the total market value of the Runes protocol has reached $1.94 billion, with a 24-hour trading volume of $6.28 million. On the same day, the BRC 20 market value stood at $2.49 billion, posing a direct challenge to the influence of Runes within the BRC20 ecosystem.
Analysts believe that the recent surge in DOG’s growth can be attributed to the overall market recovery, active participation from Western developers, and the “going viral” effect fueled by TikTok and YouTube influencers. However, competition within the BTC ecosystem remains fierce. Unisat has already airdropped “Pizza” inscriptions to eligible user wallets, with an airdrop scale exceeding 200,738 active addresses, more than twice the size of the previous Runestone airdrop, making it the largest airdrop in the Bitcoin ecosystem.
The daily trading volume of Runes shows a V-shaped rebound
Since its launch on April 20th, Runes has been in existence for a month and a half. Currently, the Runes protocol is performing well in the market, with its daily trading volume showing a V-shaped trend over this period. Data indicates that due to high initial attention upon launch, the trading volume of the Runes protocol rapidly increased in the first ten days. However, a cooling off in the Bitcoin market in May led to a significant drop in the trading volume of the Runes protocol. But since May 22nd, with the release of pent-up market sentiment, the trading volume of the Runes protocol has once again risen.
Currently, the three main markets for Runes trading are MagicEden, OKX, and UniSat. MagicEden dominates the trading volume, followed by OKX, while the trading volume on Unisat, the primary early trading market in the Bitcoin ecosystem, accounts for less than 10%.
DOG remains the leader, with its rise possibly due to its virality
Previously, there was a lack of a clear leader token in the Runes ecosystem. However, DOG has emerged as a frontrunner, garnering strong market consensus and drawing consensus through price increases.
As of June 7th, the price of DOG•GO•TO•THE•MOON was $0.008065, despite a 11.43% decrease from the previous day, it has seen a remarkable 165.6% increase within the month. DOG’s market value has reached $816 million, surpassing BRC20’s SATS, which has a market value of $727 million. The market value gap between DOG and ORDI, which stands at $1.3 billion, is only $500 million.
Unlike the BRC20 era where Asian players dominated, Runes has attracted players from both Eastern and Western regions, leading to broader consensus. The community also speculates that due to its popularity and market size, DOG is expected to be listed on major exchanges such as Binance or Coinbase.
Cryptocurrency blogger Bitcoin Square pointed out in a Space event that many believe DOG’s surge is due to expectations of its listing on platforms like Binance, but the deeper logic is that exchange listings would lower the barrier for DOG trading. Additionally, DOG’s virality effect, with numerous videos from TikTok and YouTube influencers, has garnered attention from outsiders.
Following closely behind DOG on June 7th, the second-largest market value in the Runes ecosystem was RSIC•GENESIS•RUNE, with a market value of $2.32 billion, while PUPS•WORLD•PEACE had a market value of $2.04 billion.
At the same time, on June 7th, several new Runes projects were gaining momentum, such as COOK•THE•MEMPOOL (1,132 minters), GANGSTER•GOOSE (711 minters), and THE•RUNE•FATHER (662 minters).
Various token wealth effects are emerging, attracting investors who were previously cautious towards Runes, leading them to join the ecosystem and even transition from BRC20 to Runes.
0xSea.eth, the founder of Sea Talk, believes that BRC20 experienced the first wave of excitement from April to June last year, with ORDI subsequently listing on GATE and OKX exchanges, and at the end of the year, ORDI and SATS were listed on Binance. If the Runes market experiences another outbreak in early June, it is expected that June to August will mark a new peak period.
However, some believe that this round of excitement in the Runes ecosystem is different from BRC20, as on-chain new assets are not performing as expected. From a liquidity perspective, the trading volume of Runes minted on the Bitcoin chain far exceeds the volume of buying and transferring Runes, indicating that most new Runes assets may face liquidity challenges after minting, with secondary markets lacking sufficient funds to support trading. Addressing this issue is crucial for further development of the Runes ecosystem.
Unisat makes a strong comeback, airdropping PIZZA to boost popularity
Since the launch of Runes, inscriptions have been somewhat sidelined by traders, as reflected in the trading volume. According to data from GeniiData, as of June 7th, in the past 24 hours of Bitcoin transactions, Runes trading accounted for 52.71%, Ordinals trading only accounted for 6.47%, with other trades making up 40.82%.
Against the backdrop of Runes regaining market attention, Unisat launched a powerful counterattack. On May 22nd, during the fourteenth Bitcoin Pizza Day in the cryptocurrency community, Unisat announced an airdrop of “Pizza” inscriptions to eligible user wallets. This airdrop reached a scale of over 200,738 active addresses, more than twice the size of the previous Runestone airdrop, making it the largest airdrop in the Bitcoin ecosystem.
Currently, all Pizzas have been successfully minted. As of 5 p.m. on June 7th, according to the OKX Web3 wallet, the floor price of Pizza is $4.9. Various off-exchange trading groups have emerged around Pizza, with exchanges like Gate leading the way in listing.
Overall, the activity in the Runes ecosystem continues to rise, with the number of early project holders and the background of the projects becoming important factors in identifying potential targets. The revitalization of the Runes ecosystem, coupled with the rise of DOG, injects new vitality into the cryptocurrency market.
The future of the Runes protocol leading the market remains to be seen and will require time for validation. However, a war between dogs and pizzas seems imminent.
