After the launch of the Runes protocol, its performance was below expectations. What are the catalysts for the next wave of growth?
Previously, Ignas was pessimistic about the launch of the Runes protocol, but now his optimism towards Runes is increasing day by day.Author: Ignas｜DeFi Research
Compiled by: 0x Facai, BlockBeats
Editor’s note: On May 20, Casey, the founder of Ordinals, posted on X platform in response to Runes' market cap not reaching $1 billion: "Sorry, guys, it's over. Please tune in to the next episode of Hell Money podcast, where I will commit seppuku, and then Erin will behead me to end my suffering." (Hell Money podcast is a Bitcoin-related podcast hosted by Casey.) Previously, Casey had joked that if "Runes' ecosystem doesn't reach a market cap of $1 billion within a month of launch, he would prepare to commit seppuku."
Since the beginning of the year, Runes has been one of the most talked-about narratives and protocols in the Bitcoin ecosystem, but its market performance has fallen short of expectations after its launch. Nevertheless, well-known crypto KOLs and researchers have become more optimistic about Runes at this time. What are their reasons? What catalysts are there for the Runes market moving forward?
Here is the original text by Ignas:
The launch of the Runes protocol ultimately turned into a "buy the rumor, sell the news" event. However, despite this, the Runes community remains strong, and the team focused on BTCFi continues to build. I believe a little spark is needed to reignite the hype around Runes, and here are some potential catalysts for the future:
1. Launch on CEX
The first short-term catalyst is the listing of Runes tokens on mainstream CEXs. Kraken and Binance have recently released research reports on Runes. Kraken even hinted that Runes will be listed on their trading platform.
2. BTC Soft Fork
Currently, the trading experience of Runes is not much different from BRC 20 (although Magic Eden has made some UI improvements). However, Bitcoin soft forks like OP_CAT (or the hype based on it) could bring significant improvements to Bitcoin L2, smart contracts, and the entire BTCFi space.
3. Runes USDC/USDT
Another catalyst for BTCFi growth could be the launch of USDC or USDT in the form of Runes on Bitcoin. Circle/Tether could pre-mine trillions of Rune tokens and issue/redeem them on demand. Currently, the demand for stablecoins in the Bitcoin ecosystem is low, but as Bitcoin AMM, lending, and other dApps improve user experience, this demand will increase.
In addition to these, many other FOMO catalysts will eventually emerge from unexpected places. I was previously pessimistic about the launch of the Runes protocol, but now my optimism about Runes is growing day by day.
I am waiting for the fifth wave of BTCFi. I believe it will arrive soon, as narratives based on technological innovation often trigger multiple waves, and BTCFi is one of the hottest zero-to-one innovations of this cycle.
