Author : c00k1e

X/Twitter *: * @lonelyhorseme

A year ago, when Ordinals were just emerging, I went to Hong Kong and wrote an article.

A year has passed, and the Ordinals ecosystem has thrived. In the past week, Bitcoin Asia, Ordinals Asia, and various Bitcoin-related side events have been held in Hong Kong, marking it as "Bitcoin Week" in Asia.

At the Ordinals Asia event on May 11, Ordinals protocol founder Casey Rodarmor took the stage alone at the end, delivering a speech lasting about 15 minutes. In this speech filled with laughter, all Ordinals enthusiasts had the opportunity to connect closely with Casey and his thoughts.

TL;DR

▣ Bitcoin is the strongest cryptocurrency; many other chains or protocols outside of Bitcoin may have money but are very fragile.

▣ When developing on Bitcoin, developers need to adapt their ideas to Bitcoin, rather than having the chain adapt to their ideas as they would on other chains.

▣ Ordinals, inscriptions, and runes have succeeded because they are "simple"; protocols like Taproot Assets and RGB, which have been built for years, are good but too complex.

▣ Do not view the Ordinals, inscriptions, and runes ecosystem as a high-tech ecosystem; being honest and inclusive can also bring a more interesting and decentralized social, gambling, and entertainment ecosystem for degenerates.

▣ Continuously building a social, gambling, and entertainment ecosystem ultimately aims to attract more people to understand, use, and contemplate the value and significance of Bitcoin.

▣ Ordinals have always belonged to everyone; future updates will be driven collectively by all builders, with all ideas and discussions visible on GitHub, working openly and transparently without autocracy.

Hell Money 「冥钞」

"Hell Money" is actually the name of a podcast that Erin and I started about 2 years ago.

"Hell Money" is a quirky name, and I think most people do not know what it means. In fact, "Hell Money" is a translation of the Chinese term "冥钞". "冥钞" is a type of paper currency that looks like this:

When Casey shared this image, the Chinese attendees laughed.

If you are Chinese, I think you know what this is. If you are not, but you live in a Chinese community, you might remember seeing an orange or red small altar in a corner when you first visited a Chinese restaurant as a child, with oranges and some incense burning. Another way Chinese people honor their ancestors is through "冥钞", which is actually currency meant for the deceased.

I first saw "冥钞" in my childhood, if I remember correctly, in Chinatown, San Francisco. It felt like a mysterious and peculiar cultural artifact from another world. Returning to why we named the podcast "冥钞", it has two layers of meaning.

First, fiat currency is "冥钞". Fiat currency is "the currency of demons" and has been issued in such massive quantities that it deserves to be burned like "冥钞". The second meaning is that Bitcoin is also "冥钞", but unlike fiat currency, Bitcoin is robust and powerful, appreciated by the living, the deceased, and even the divine.

Resistance and the long game 「反抗、一场长期的较量」

Why build on Bitcoin? It’s about resistance and a long game. When I first got into Bitcoin in 2013, I thought Bitcoin would be terminated in a short time because at any moment, authorities could intervene and attempt to destroy it. There were two such examples before Bitcoin: Liberty Reverse and e-gold. Over the past 11 years, the government resistance Bitcoin has faced has actually been surprisingly low; even the US and China have not mounted a real attack on Bitcoin or the entire cryptocurrency space.

However, we must always remember that the threat from governments to Bitcoin exists. Although the situation remains relatively good today, with governments merely being "mildly displeased," no one can guarantee what will happen in the future. This is why I build on Bitcoin—if governments truly want to attack cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin is the only technology and platform that can effectively defend itself.

Many other chains or protocols outside of Bitcoin are wealthy, but that is their only advantage. Besides that, they are complex and extremely centralized, making them very fragile. When that potentially worsening future arrives, they will be destroyed or collapse, or worse, become tools for regulation and censorship.

Some suggestions for Bitcoin builders 「给比特币建设者的一些建议」 Keep it simple 「让一切变得简单」

I have some advice for builders in Bitcoin and beyond, the most important being "keep it simple." Recently, I spoke with a friend I have known for possibly 20 years about the common traits of the best developers we know, and the conclusion is that these developers can make their creations simple and practical. Complexity always drives people crazy and complicates matters. In Ordinals and Runes, although some unavoidable complexity exists, we have also tried to keep things as simple as possible.

Adapt ideas to Bitcoin not the other way around 「让想法适应比特币，而不是让比特币适应你的想法」

There is a question that might make building on Bitcoin quite difficult. When you build on other chains outside of Bitcoin, you might have a top-level idea about what you want to do, and then those chains passively match your idea. But on Bitcoin, your ideas need to adapt to Bitcoin. Instead of directly creating a very detailed design for what you want to achieve, it is more appropriate to have a goal for realizing that idea and then remind yourself to align the design with Bitcoin. Bitcoin will not adapt to you like other chains; you need to adapt to Bitcoin.

The stupidest thing could possibly work 「最傻瓜的东西可能成功」

Why have Ordinals, inscriptions, and runes been so successful? I believe the answer is that they are the simplest viable ideas. Before I launched inscriptions, there were some projects that had already gained significant traction, two of which are Taproot Assets and RGB. I have great respect for these two projects; they are very smart and have been building for a long time. I once thought they might defeat Ordinals. However, they made everything too complex and have yet to achieve widespread adoption. Taproot Assets announced some things before runes officially launched, but months passed without any progress. A few months later, the "stupid" runes arrived and gained massive adoption and enthusiasm. This taught me that "stupid" things can succeed, while complex things often struggle.

It's not tech 「不要把 Ordinals 看成技术」

Do not view the Ordinals, inscriptions, and runes ecosystem as a technical ecosystem. Admittedly, if we see it as a future finance tool, like becoming a bank for friends in Africa or a revolutionary financial market, it would be very tempting. I would be happy if one day these lofty narratives became a reality. But the current reality is that Ordinals, inscriptions, and runes are technologies that greatly impact social, gambling, and entertainment. If we view Ordinals from this perspective, we can be more honest with ourselves and the audience we serve, and we will no longer feel like we are compromising some idealism or principles for success. If this is a more transparent, decentralized casino with a lower house edge than Las Vegas, where all degenerates can have fun, I think that is also very good.

I think the real gambling capital of the world is Macau? So, will there be something like inscriptions and runes appearing in Macau? I don’t know, haha.

For each of us, viewing the construction on Ordinals, inscriptions, and runes as a way to create social, gambling, and entertainment products is honest and practical. We do not need to hide anything; let your users experience the fairest and most interesting products. It’s like an "interstellar casino," an experience that transports you to the future or to a space station through a portal, but much more interesting than in science fiction—decentralized, ubiquitous, and more in our hearts.

All in your hands 「Ordinals 是你们的」

Everything is yours.

As a developer of this protocol, all I can do is propose my ideas and build together with everyone, rather than act unilaterally. For future updates regarding Ordinals, inscriptions, and runes, you can see our ideas and discussions on GitHub. Whenever I have new ideas, I will post an issue on GitHub; we work openly and transparently, and future significant updates will be driven collectively by all of you—today's builders of Ordinals, whether present or not. So, GitHub is the Alpha.

No currency is better suited for Ordinals, inscriptions, and runes than Bitcoin in this "interstellar casino." My ultimate goal in continuously building this "interstellar casino" is to help more people understand Bitcoin, use Bitcoin, and contemplate the value and significance of Bitcoin, allowing more people to embrace this most robust currency that can continually resist the pressures of reality.

I look forward to seeing your continuous innovation and construction. Thank you.

Disclaimer: This article is for reference only and should not be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or any other advice, and does not represent the position of RunesCC.