Prologue

Recently, the calm #Bitcoin ecosystem has stirred with a ripple, as the first token of the #Alkanes protocol, $METHANE, which was initially valued at around 1M, surged to over 10M in a short time. This has attracted the attention of many communities and KOLs, who have joined the #Alkanes development. Support from various trading tools has poured in one after another, and the Bitcoin ecosystem hasn't been this lively in a long time, seemingly returning to the explosive growth of Bitcoin ecosystem protocols in 2023. As of today, $METHANE has stabilized at a market cap of over ten million, being referred to by the community as the next $ORDI. Such instances of daily multiples are common on SOL and BSC, but in the current Bitcoin ecosystem, even a slight ripple feels like a thunderclap, stirring up countless discussions. It’s like a blind person suddenly seeing light, filled with beautiful hopes for the future.

I refer to the Alkanes protocol as Runes 2.0. Alkanes is built on the foundation of Runes and is a meta-protocol that introduces smart contracts to Bitcoin L1.

So, under what circumstances was the Alkanes protocol born?

The story begins with Runes…

Memory Mode

The Birth of Runes

Runes was first proposed by Casey @rodarmor (the founder of the Ordinal protocol) in September 2023 as an alternative to BRC20. BRC20 has been criticized for its reliance on JSON inscriptions, which lead to on-chain data redundancy, network congestion, and high gas fees. Runes, on the other hand, utilizes Bitcoin's UTXO model and the OP_RETURN opcode to design a more efficient and concise token issuance mechanism, aiming to enhance performance and reduce the burden on the network.

Features

• Simplicity and Efficiency: Runes is directly based on Bitcoin's native UTXO model, eliminating the need for complex off-chain indexing or JSON inscriptions, resulting in smaller data usage and faster transaction processing.
• Decentralized Minting: Similar to BRC20, Runes emphasizes fair issuance, allowing users to freely mint tokens.
• Strong Compatibility: Runes is highly compatible with the Bitcoin protocol and can be implemented without a soft fork, lowering the technical barrier.
• Flexibility: Supports various token types (fungible/non-fungible) and provides developers with greater creative space.

Development and Impact

• Launch in 2024: Runes was officially activated at Bitcoin block height 840,000 (during the April 2024 halving), and the first batch of Runes tokens quickly sparked market enthusiasm, with some projects seeing their market cap surge in a short time, such as $DOG.
• Miner Revenue: Similar to BRC20, the minting frenzy of Runes brought substantial transaction fees to miners (GAS once approached 3000), especially compensating for the reduced block rewards after the halving.
• Ecosystem Expansion: Runes promoted token experimentation on Bitcoin Layer 1, attracting developers to explore decentralized applications (DeFi, NFTs, etc.), further enriching the ecosystem.
• Community Response: Despite Runes optimizing the shortcomings of BRC20, there were still "Bitcoin purists" who criticized it for deviating from the original intention of "peer-to-peer electronic cash," believing that the token frenzy exacerbated speculation.

Current Status and Challenges

As of April 2025, the Runes ecosystem has begun to take shape, with thousands of Runes tokens circulating, and some leading projects (like #RSIC, #DOG) performing well in terms of market cap. However, Runes still faces challenges:

Application Limitations: Similar to BRC20, Runes mostly remains at the "issuance + trading" level, lacking complex application scenarios.

Market Competition: The DeFi and MEME ecosystems of chains like Ethereum and Solana are more mature, attracting significant funds and attention, and Runes needs to find a unique positioning.

Turning Point

At this time, Alkanes quietly launched on March 18, carrying this responsibility and sparking heated discussions in the Bitcoin community.

What is Alkanes?

Alkanes is an application layer meta-protocol based on Bitcoin, aiming to achieve smart contract functionality on Bitcoin L1 through the Protorunes protocol and OP_RETURN outputs, supporting decentralized application (dApp) development.

Technical Implementation

Alkanes uses Rust to write smart contracts, which are compiled into WebAssembly (WASM) and stored on the Bitcoin blockchain in a compressed file format through witness scripts, ensuring efficient deployment and execution.

Protocol Features

Building on the Runes and Ordinals protocols, Alkanes combines the Metashrew indexer to provide verifiable on-chain state management and asset views, supporting complex trust protocols and state machines.

Advantages

Without the need to trust third parties, Alkanes leverages Bitcoin's decentralized characteristics to ensure the security and transparency of smart contracts, providing developers with flexible dApp building tools.

From its launch, Alkanes sparked discussions, but the excitement did not last long and soon became overshadowed by the current situation, representing a peak at its inception. However, with the support of iDclub@idclub_ordMarketplace, it has been revitalized, igniting a fierce flame, subtly illuminating the Bitcoin ecosystem.

The curtain of the Bitcoin ecosystem's DeFi empire has quietly risen, and the story does not end here.

The Runes 2.0 solution is not solely represented by Alkanes.

In June 2024, Mikael@MikaelBTC proposed a programmable Runes solution called RSM (Runes State Machine) @RSM_Runes, which was the only Runes protocol at the time, gaining significant attention, and the protocol token $RSM also reached a market cap of ten million. Is this the next ORDI?

What is RSM?

RSM is a programmable Runes solution, a Turing-complete state machine for #Runes on Bitcoin L1, developed by Mikael @MikaelBTC, encompassing Bitcoin, Runes 2.0, RunesFi, and BTCFi.

Technical Implementation

Smart contracts drive state management, with transactions triggering decentralized computation; the UTXO and state machine dual model transitions through burn2/burn3, mint2/mint3; decentralized computation without custody; token nesting supports independent logic; DAO governance contract (Contract-001). RSM ensures security through Bitcoin consensus and features a modular design to expand dApp development capabilities.

Protocol Features

The RSM protocol endows the Runes protocol with powerful programmability and DeFi potential through features like Turing completeness, dual model architecture, decentralized computation and governance, and token nesting. It balances Bitcoin's security and scalability, supporting complex dApp development while maintaining decentralization and user control. Its openness and community-driven model inject vitality into the Bitcoin Layer 1 ecosystem.

Advantages

The RSM protocol provides unique advantages to the Runes protocol through strong programmability, decentralized security, dual model flexibility, modular expansion, community governance, Bitcoin compatibility, and an open ecosystem. It significantly enhances the DeFi potential of Layer 1 while preserving the core characteristics of Bitcoin, offering developers a flexible framework and users a secure and reliable experience.

Differences Between the Two Runes 2.0 Solutions

Alkanes: Alkanes is based on Runes but is an independent protocol, facing challenges in needing support from mainstream trading markets in the Bitcoin ecosystem like OKX@OKXWalletCN, UniSat@unisatwallet, Magic Eden@MEonBTC, etc.

RSM: RSM is a programmable Runes solution, facing challenges in needing to persuade Runes protocol founder Casey@rodarmor to adopt its solution and upgrade the original Runes protocol.

Epilogue

Although Alkanes and RSM are different in nature, both have made significant contributions to solving the liquidity issues in the Bitcoin ecosystem and the challenges of achieving decentralized DeFi.

Runes 2.0 will eventually erupt, showcasing the Bitcoin ecosystem in dazzling brilliance.

Make Bitcoin Magic Again!!!

免责声明：本文章仅代表作者个人观点，不代表本平台的立场和观点。本文章仅供信息分享，不构成对任何人的任何投资建议。用户与作者之间的任何争议，与本平台无关。如网页中刊载的文章或图片涉及侵权，请提供相关的权利证明和身份证明发送邮件到support@aicoin.com，本平台相关工作人员将会进行核查。