The Night Before the Bitcoin Meme Explosion: RGB++ Incubating a Hit-Making Machine?

Author: Deep Tide TechFlow

Meme, as defined by its characteristic of "rapid dissemination," has spread like wildfire across various sectors of the crypto ecosystem: from celebrity effects, the U.S. elections, to truth terminals and zoo meetings, every day brings a new Meme narrative as soon as we wake up (or sometimes even before we have a chance to sleep).

With BTC breaking the historical threshold of $100,000, the enthusiasm for a long bull market has been reignited, and some have begun to notice that in this era where everything can be a Meme, Bitcoin Memes seem to be in a corner of neglected attention.

Some may argue that the awareness of most Bitcoin holders seems to remain at the "Hold" stage, but the unprecedented "everyone is inscribing" phenomenon in 2023 has already shown us the community's enthusiasm for participating in the Bitcoin ecosystem.

Others might say that Bitcoin's scalability limitations and lack of support for smart contracts raise questions about how it can support the issuance of Meme assets and high-frequency PvP. Such doubts are evidently somewhat outdated; infrastructure has become the main theme of this cycle in the Bitcoin ecosystem, with numerous projects aimed at realizing Bitcoin's native programmability emerging. Bbabylon has burst onto the scene with its staking narrative, while CKB steadily brings scalability, indicating that Bitcoin indeed possesses the potential to support a more complex ecosystem.

So, under these preconditions, is Bitcoin Meme truly the next battlefield for attention?

From the market situation, core builders in the Bitcoin ecosystem have already taken action: besides Merlin Chain's call to become the "core force of Bitcoin Memes," CKB, as a highly regarded Bitcoin Layer 2 protocol and the proponent of the RGB++ concept, has launched its ecosystem Meme launch platform CKB.FI, which has generated high expectations for the future direction of Bitcoin Memes.

This article aims to delve into the essence of the Meme pandemic and explore the prospects of Bitcoin Memes and the key role of RGB++ in promoting Memes as a traffic entry point in the Bitcoin ecosystem by comparing these essential factors with the Bitcoin ecosystem.

Grasping the Essence of the Issue: Why Does the Meme Narrative Endure?

According to CoinGecko data, the current market capitalization of the Meme sector has exceeded $130 billion. Taking the Solana ecosystem Meme issuance platform Pump.fun as an example, in just eight months since its official launch, Pump.fun has deployed over 4 million tokens and generated more than $368 million in cumulative transaction fees.

The popularity of Memes is evident and requires no further elaboration. However, no billion-dollar craze arises by chance; a highly worthy topic to explore behind the heat of Memes is: what exactly ignites our enthusiasm when we engage with Memes?

Essentially, a Meme is an asset class, but unlike other assets, the unique allure of Memes is shaped by the Web2 internet culture and the decentralized rebellious spirit of Web3:

Cultural Attributes: Eye-Catching Novel Narratives

Infectiousness is at the core of Memes, but their infectiousness does not stem from grand narratives; rather, it resembles most black comedy films that focus on the underbelly, using humor, self-deprecation, irony, and other witty, engaging, and easily digestible expressions to critique the status quo, capturing attention precisely while further stimulating users' emotional resonance.

Dissemination Attributes: Viral Spread Based on Community and Social Media

The highly symbolic content form of Memes itself grants them outstanding dissemination advantages, and Memes rooted in communities naturally benefit from the spontaneous promotion of strong communities, allowing Memes to sweep the globe at a viral pace. Compared to traditional assets, Memes are community-driven, and this decentralized mode of dissemination is both efficient and highly penetrating.

Fairness Attributes: A Perfect Reflection of Decentralized Spirit

The birth of blockchain arose from people's resistance to the centralized control of institutional finance, and in this cycle where VC tokens have repeatedly disappointed secondary market investors, the issuance and circulation of Memes rely entirely on community consensus. This decentralized characteristic makes Memes more aligned with the spirit of Web3 and is seen as a community's expression of resistance against VCs.

Trading Attributes: An Exciting PvP Battlefield, Where Risks and Opportunities Coexist

The high volatility of Memes brings risks but also provides investors with significant potential profit opportunities. In the stimulating PvP battlefield, traders' sharp market insights and decisive trading decisions are put to the test, and amidst the allure of wealth creation myths, countless individuals fantasize about being the next protagonist of a rags-to-riches story.

By sorting out the core attributes of Memes, the cultural infectiousness, viral dissemination, decentralized spirit, and enormous potential returns behind the Meme craze become apparent. Clarifying the underlying logic of Memes breaking out of their niche provides a clearer argumentative framework for dissecting the advantages of Bitcoin Memes and exploring their potential.

The Overlooked Corner of Attention: Why You Should Pay Attention to Bitcoin Memes?

In terms of cultural heritage, no crypto ecosystem dares to compete with Bitcoin.

As the pioneer of crypto, Bitcoin is like the Jerusalem of the crypto world; it symbolizes decentralization, freedom, and a challenge to the traditional financial system, representing the beliefs and values of decentralization.

The 16-year tumultuous development journey has not only provided countless Meme materials but also attracted numerous geeks, tech enthusiasts, and investors to converge and form a unique and vibrant cultural circle. Whether it’s Satoshi Nakamoto, the 5.22 Pizza Day, or Bitcoin enthusiast Trump, the dense array of memes in the Bitcoin ecosystem always brings a knowing smile.

In terms of dissemination attributes, no crypto ecosystem's global influence can match that of Bitcoin.

On-chain data shows that the number of Bitcoin wallet addresses has surpassed 500 million, with over 50 million wallets holding at least $1 worth of assets. In traditional sectors, companies like Tesla, Microsoft, and Starbucks have supported Bitcoin payments, and over 60 publicly traded companies have followed MicroStrategy's lead in adopting Bitcoin strategies. With Bitcoin prices continuously breaking new highs in November, the search and discussion volumes about Bitcoin on mainstream social media platforms like Twitter, Weibo, and Google have surged.

These series of data showcase Bitcoin's powerful appeal and widespread adoption globally, and the large and active community undoubtedly lays a solid foundation for the development of Bitcoin Memes.

It can be said that the Bitcoin ecosystem possesses extremely favorable innate conditions for the development of Memes, and in fact, Bitcoin and Memes have a deep-rooted connection.

Looking back, the Meme elder Doge, which sparked discussions even among subway aunties in 2021, was inspired by Bitcoin. In 2013, Adobe software engineer Jackson Palmer and IBM software engineer Billy Markus built Doge based on the UTXO transaction framework, aiming to demonstrate improvements to Bitcoin and create a cryptocurrency that is easier to obtain, more practical, and more fun than Bitcoin. To this day, Doge has grown into the absolute leader in the Meme sector.

In recent times, the "everyone is inscribing" craze initiated by the Bitcoin ecosystem in 2023 has also been seen by many as an evolutionary variant of Memes that emphasizes fair issuance principles. The inscribing phenomenon has not only ignited people's enthusiasm for participating in the Bitcoin ecosystem but has also pushed Bitcoin to embark on large-scale ecological infrastructure development, with the most well-known being the Web3 wallet under leading exchange OKX, which gained immense popularity due to its smooth inscribing experience.

Additionally, the established public chain CKB, known for its technical prowess, has keenly sensed the mismatch between Bitcoin market enthusiasm and lagging infrastructure. By launching the isomorphic binding RGB++ expansion protocol, it aims to achieve Bitcoin's native scalability and programmability, and has built a series of Bitcoin ecological infrastructure products based on this expansion protocol, including the JoyID encrypted wallet with Passkey key management, which requires no blockchain knowledge for users; the programmable stablecoins USDI and RUSD, providing a stable value bridge for BTCFi; and a series of native trading platforms like UTXOSwap, Omiga, and Dobby, effectively addressing the liquidity issues and high transaction costs in the BTC ecosystem at that time. This not only greatly enhanced user participation in the Bitcoin ecosystem but also laid a solid foundation for the future development of Memes.

More importantly, the key to mining in the Meme sector lies in early ambush and attention when no one is paying attention, and the currently overlooked Bitcoin Memes have become the focus of keen Meme hunters.

Solana, as the main battlefield for Memes in this cycle, has recently shown signs of fatigue, with a large influx of users leading to severe PvP competition, causing many to lose money and exit. In the past month, Base Memes have emerged, with multiple hits created by Virtuals and Clanker not only filling the pockets of early ambushers but also bringing a clear Meme insight:

When attention has not yet converged, ambushing early often leads to less competition and a better chance of obtaining relatively good returns.

Now, according to Artemis data, the net inflow of funds on Base has exceeded $750 million in the past month, indicating that the profit space for ambushing Base is rapidly narrowing. Following the logic of "early ambush, high returns," and drawing from the development experience of Pump.fun for Solana and Virtuals for Base, as long as a complete infrastructure and launch platform are established, Bitcoin Memes, which have a rich cultural heritage but have not yet gained significant attention, are highly likely to take over Base and become the next main battlefield for Memes.

So, the script for the Bitcoin Meme craze has been written; who will be the one to build the infrastructure and set the stage?

Bitcoin Meme Asset Issuance: Why is RGB++ the Optimal Solution?

Still, the essence of Memes is that they are an asset class; thus, the method of Bitcoin asset issuance becomes a prerequisite for the explosion of Bitcoin Memes.

Due to Bitcoin's very limited scripting language, realizing the native issuance of Bitcoin assets and endowing them with complex trading rules and contracts is no easy task. Over the past decade, solutions surrounding this issue have continuously evolved until CKB, inspired by RGB, launched the innovative RGB++ expansion protocol, which provides the most widely accepted implementation approach for Bitcoin asset issuance that combines native characteristics with flexibility.

Colored coins are widely regarded by the community as the earliest exploration of Bitcoin asset issuance. Although this solution can map different assets in the real world, it is limited by Bitcoin's functional constraints and cannot support Turing-complete smart contract scripts.

For a long time thereafter, the asset issuance in the Bitcoin ecosystem mostly adopted sidechain anchoring Bitcoin solutions. This method of swapping Bitcoin to a sidechain through two-way pegs offers sufficient flexibility, but sidechains are essentially independent chains. Even though they are anchored to Bitcoin, they do not directly relate to BTC, lacking native characteristics and posing security risks, which has prevented them from gaining widespread acceptance for a long time.

On October 19, 2023, the announcement of the Taproot Assets protocol by Lightning Labs was seen as a milestone event for Bitcoin asset issuance. Taproot Assets allows anyone to issue any token based on Bitcoin, but unfortunately, this solution does not support complex smart contracts, which imposes significant limitations on introducing more complex gameplay for assets.

The asset issuance method represented by inscriptions and its variants like BRC-20, ARC-20, and Runes, under the promotion of SegWit and Taproot, has led the Bitcoin ecosystem trend. In simple terms, the Ordinal protocol achieves native Bitcoin asset issuance by assigning unique identifiers to the smallest unit of Bitcoin, 2.1 quadrillion satoshis, and writing information into each satoshi.

However, due to Bitcoin's block speed and capacity limitations, this asset issuance method still faces scalability issues.

At the beginning of 2023, when inscriptions were just starting to rise, CKB, which had long been interested in the Bitcoin ecosystem, noticed the various limitations caused by Bitcoin's lagging performance and non-Turing completeness. Inspired by the RGB protocol, it began to design RGB++ to achieve Bitcoin's native scalability and programmability.

The core idea of RGB is simple: to place asset issuance and contract logic off-chain and bind off-chain behavior with changes in Bitcoin's UTXO through client verification and one-time sealing, leveraging the consensus that UTXO records transaction events and processes. This binding relationship allows off-chain asset issuance to inherit Bitcoin's robust security.

In this process, users need to run clients themselves and verify asset changes related to them. However, since most ordinary users do not have the capability to store all historical transactions, this creates a data island problem. Additionally, due to various limitations of the virtual machine AluVM used by RGB, it has yet to support complete contract functionality.

The core idea of reconstructing RGB++ can be summarized in four words: isomorphic binding.

First, the client operation and verification work originally handled by users are transferred to CKB. This scheme, where Bitcoin serves as the main chain and CKB acts as a shadow chain, with a two-way binding between UTXO and Cell, not only inherits Bitcoin's strong security foundation but also solves the global verifiability issue of RGB. More importantly, CKB's use of the CKB-VM virtual machine brings powerful smart contract capabilities, making the RGB++ protocol a cradle for incubating Bitcoin-native Memes.

In July of this year, RGB++ was upgraded to RGB++ Layer, aiming to play an important role in Bitcoin asset issuance from a more global perspective. It not only supports isomorphic binding between any blockchain built on the UTXO ledger model, including Cardano, Dogecoin, BSV, and BCH, but also supports various types of assets such as FT and NFT, making asset issuance more aligned with actual needs.

Notably, the recent news that RGB++ will soon support Doge has garnered widespread attention: Doge has long lacked a robust on-chain ecosystem, but with the support of RGB++, Doge will upgrade from a Meme Coin to a Meme Chain. Users will be able to issue any type of asset on Dogechain and benefit from RGB++'s bridge-less cross-chain Leap and Lightning Networks compatibility, allowing Doge users to trade in a cheaper, faster, and more seamless manner.

The integration of RGB++'s advantages with Doge's million-user base and billion-dollar market cap will further establish Doge as the preferred platform for Meme projects, enriching the Bitcoin Meme ecosystem.

Thanks to the advantages of the UTXO model, RGB++ Layer can create a new paradigm for asset issuance, supporting the simultaneous issuance of the same asset across multiple chains in different proportions. This not only achieves coordination and unification between different chains but also provides high flexibility for asset issuers.

RGB++ Layer is also introducing a new asset issuance model called IBO (Initial Bitcoin Offering), which supports the creation of funding pools directly on UTXOSwap, allowing newly issued assets to be traded with high liquidity.

In our previous article, "Comparison of Four Mainstream Bitcoin Expansion Solutions: Who Will Truly Unlock the Trillion-Dollar Market Potential of BTCFi?" we detailed the operational logic of RGB++ Layer and its specific advantages in asset issuance. Interested readers can revisit that article.

Through RGB++, we see a broader support for Bitcoin's ecosystem, greater native programmability, enhanced interoperability, and a simpler, more efficient, and transparent asset issuance method, which will serve as the infrastructural foundation for the explosion of Bitcoin Memes.

As infrastructure improves, the focus of Bitcoin Meme development will begin to shift towards specific innovative gameplay.

Unlocking Trading Innovation: How Does RGB++ Empower More Advanced Gameplay for Memes Based on BTCFi?

How can we more efficiently transform the specific advantages of RGB++ in asset issuance into more innovative gameplay and higher-quality experiences?

The first lever is the launch platform.

The launch of Pump.fun in April 2024 brought Solana Memes to a climax, prompting major public chain ecosystems to take action. Whether it's TRON's SunPump, BSC's Four.Meme, or Base's hit-makers Virtuals and Clanker, historical experience has repeatedly proven the important catalytic role of launch platforms in the development of Memes.

In the face of the imminent explosion of Bitcoin Memes, CKB's Meme launch platform CKB.Fi, which is modeled after Pump.fun and Virtuals, represents a forward-looking layout for the CKB ecosystem, aiming to become the "Meme blockbuster manufacturing machine" for the Bitcoin ecosystem's future.

Rooted in the cultural heritage of Bitcoin ecosystem Memes and equipped with the asset issuance advantages of RGB++, another highlight of CKB.Fi's Meme asset issuance lies in its deep integration with the best crypto social media platform, Twitter.

Users have two ways to issue Memes: one is to issue directly based on CKB.Fi, completing the launch in just a few simple steps; the other is to issue based on Twitter, where users can quote a specific tweet as the source of Meme content and then fill in the token-related information based on that content. Once the qualifying tweet is detected, a bonding creation will be completed on CKB.FI, and CKB.FI Twitter will restore the corresponding bonding link to the author to officially complete the launch. The tokens will then be distributed through the followers on Twitter, achieving a cold start for the community.

As we all know, Twitter has become the largest hub for Meme information, and CKB.Fi's innovative Meme issuance and distribution method based on Twitter not only facilitates the discovery and preservation of valuable content, bringing cultural value accumulation to Meme projects, but also integrates social gameplay that promotes sustainable dissemination and promotion of Meme projects.

Creator incentives are another core feature of CKB.Fi, with 6.9% allocated to token initiators and their Twitter followers. This distribution ratio effectively avoids the existence of insider trading while better incentivizing more people to participate in Meme creation. Additionally, creators can use part of their allocation to incentivize their followers, further adding a social attribute to Meme gameplay and driving Memes to achieve broader dissemination through Twitter's billions of users.

With a fair, low-threshold, and highly disseminable launch platform, the series of advantages of RGB++ will also introduce more complex, innovative, and value-adding gameplay for the issued Meme assets.

As a Meme asset issuance solution, the fact that most Memes ultimately trend towards zero makes it theoretically impossible for Memes issued based on RGB++ to ever reach zero. This is because the CKB blockchain employs a unique value capture mechanism that requires the storage and operation of on-chain data to lock CKB tokens. In other words, the issuance of RGB++ Memes will occupy a corresponding number of CKB tokens based on the asset size, injecting value support into Memes and distinguishing them from purely speculative Memes: as long as users still like this Meme or it still has profit potential, the Meme will continue to exist; when users no longer like this Meme or it no longer has profit potential, they can choose to destroy the Meme to redeem the locked CKB tokens.

In terms of trading experience, assets created based on CKB have an average block time of about 10 seconds, and transaction fees are very low; one CKB can normally cover the miner fees for over 5,000 transfers, optimizing efficiency and cost, and addressing Bitcoin's inherent issues of long transaction times, low efficiency, and high costs.

More importantly, CKB is Turing-complete, which not only means that CKB can design more complex conditional executions and business logic for Meme gameplay but also endows Bitcoin Memes with the potential for deeper gameplay. Moreover, CKB itself has the capability to build a rich ecosystem, encompassing modules such as wallets, DEX, DID, stablecoin protocols, GameFi, and SocialFi, and is continuously expanding through active ecological collaborations. This means that Meme assets can also participate in the ecosystem in the form of yield-generating tools, such as Meme staking, Meme lending, building on-chain identity systems, and social interactions, further integrating deeply with other sectors of the ecosystem to help holders earn more returns.

Beyond better experiences and richer ecological gameplay, unlike the isolated development of various public chain Meme ecosystems today, the asset issuance and trading supported by RGB++ offer strong aggregation and interoperability.

Thanks to the UTXO model, RGB++ not only supports asset issuance across all UTXO model blockchains but also allows issuers to issue the same asset across multiple chains in different proportions based on their specific business needs. Furthermore, through RGB++ Layer's bridge-less cross-chain (Leap), assets on UTXO chains can seamlessly interact with other UTXO chains without the need for cross-chain bridges.

In this way, RGB++ brings a unified asset issuance standard to all UTXO model blockchains, making asset issuance and management more intuitive and flexible, while asset trading becomes safer and seamless. Users, funds, and liquidity across multiple chains, including Cardano, Dogecoin, BSV, BCH, and DogeChain, can be further integrated, providing Memes with richer ecological scenarios, broader user bases, and deeper liquidity.

Currently, CKB.Fi is expanding the existing Meme issuance mechanism to BTC with the product btc.finance, which is nearing completion of development. It will also develop an issuance platform on DogeChain through RGB++, unlocking the Meme economic potential on the most widely recognized Meme (BTC) and Meme Chain (DogeChain).

Another very intuitive case of deep integration between Memes and the ecosystem is Fiber Network:

As an L2 network based on CKB, Fiber Network aims to achieve programmability expansion for the Bitcoin ecosystem. Its initial functions are similar to those of the Lightning Network, aiming to become a high-performance, low-cost microtransaction payment network, with greater flexibility and efficiency in liquidity management.

However, the birth of Fiber Network is not intended to replace the Lightning Network but to work alongside it to further enrich the possibilities of the Bitcoin ecosystem: unlike the Lightning Network, which focuses solely on BTC, Fiber Network can support all assets issued based on the RGB++ protocol.

Fiber Network and the Lightning Network share UTXO technical isomorphism, naturally endowing them with cross-chain atomic swap capabilities. This combination of "Bitcoin-level security + Ethereum-level functionality + Lightning Network-level speed" not only paves the way for the large-scale adoption of the Lightning Network but also introduces infinite possibilities for the development of BTCFi. As an important traffic entry point and asset class in the Bitcoin ecosystem, Memes are bound to generate more innovative gameplay in richer BTCFi scenarios.

Conclusion

Actions speak louder than words; in fact, the Meme ecosystem of CKB has already shown signs of rising.

At the end of November, the leading RGB++ ecosystem asset Seal, with a remarkable increase of 430% in seven days, sparked widespread discussions about the potential of the Bitcoin Meme ecosystem. It is reported that Seal will become one of the first RGB++ assets supported by Fiber Network, allowing Seal holders to participate in decentralized liquidity lending and other Lightning-based BTCFi, leading the next development direction of Bitcoin's native financial services.

Additionally, the CKB Meme launch platform CKB.Fi is also developing Pump.fun-like products based on BTC and DOGE, enriching asset trading gameplay while optimizing Meme asset issuance, which has similarly sparked concentrated discussions within the community.

Since the inscribing craze began, the curtain on the Bitcoin ecosystem has already been raised for some time, and Memes are seen as an important traffic entry point for more incremental users entering the Bitcoin ecosystem. From the perspective of Meme characteristics, whether in terms of historical roots, cultural attributes, or ecological potential, the development of Bitcoin ecosystem Memes holds great promise. The emergence of RGB++ further addresses the challenges faced by Bitcoin Memes in asset issuance and trading, providing a solution that combines native characteristics and programmability.

As CKB continues to refine its product matrix around RGB++ and the Meme launch platform CKB.Fi undergoes continuous iteration, will the next breakout Meme blockbuster be born within the Bitcoin ecosystem?

The Meme cycle continues; stay tuned for ongoing updates.