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The cryptocurrency market witnessed a remarkable recovery in 2023 with a staggering 109% year-over-year (YoY) surge. However, what captured the attention of the Binance Research team was the notable growth of the BRC-20 token standard throughout the year.
In their 140-page report, the research arm of the world’s largest crypto exchange revealed that Ordinals, Inscriptions, and BRC-20 token standards played a pivotal role in the resurgence of the foremost blockchain network.
According to the report, these three-tiered systems, which introduced more functionality to the largely rigid decentralized value exchange protocol, led to the creation of a “new era for Bitcoin” in 2023.
#Binance Research is delighted to announce the release of our comprehensive industry year-in-review report.
We uncover the top crypto industry dynamics of 2023 and discuss key trends as we head further into 2024.
Check it out 🔽https://t.co/okLKsocwjx
— Binance Research (@BinanceResearch) January 15, 2024
Providing the requisite data to back up its claims, the Binance Research team stated that Bitcoin boosted its market dominance from 40.4% to 50.2%, all thanks to the BRC-20-powered tokens and inscriptions.
The Bitcoin network, famously introduced in 2008 and launched in 2009 by pseudonymous founder Satoshi Nakamoto, has been fixated on enabling a permissionless value transfer ecosystem.
Given its structural framework, it has largely been difficult to introduce smart contracts required for the development of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and the DeFi ecosystem.
However, March 2023 saw the introduction of the BRC-20 token standard, which opened the doors to new realities in the oldest blockchain protocol.
Since then, BRC-20 tokens have shot into crypto prominence, with digital meme coins like Pepe making their mark in a short time.
With meme coins and modifiable data introduced into the Bitcoin network, Binance Research noted that the network activity was “clearly impacted” by the deployment of inscriptions, as there was an increase in Bitcoin’s mempool transaction count.
Zooming in on the leading BRC-20 tokens, the Binance Research report revealed that the ORDI token, with a 1k mint limit and 21 million maximum supply, is the most successful.
ORDI tokens have so far been listed on the most popular centralized crypto exchanges in the industry.
Following in a close second are the SAT tokens, with rats and MUBI BRC-20 tokens rounding up the top four list.
With the explosive growth of the BRC-20 token ecosystem, the nascent space has pooled in a whopping $1.3 billion in market valuation to the popular crypto bellwether, aiding its continued quest as the pinnacle of crypto excellence.
The BRC-20 token standard redefining the crypto space comes amid views among Bitcoin maxis that the added feature was in direct contrast to the underlying ideology of the Bitcoin network.
While it is still up for discussion, BRC-20 could serve as the springboard to ensure the relevance of the older blockchain protocol as newer solutions hit the market.
BRC-20 Transactions Could Help Miner Fees
The Bitcoin network operates on a competitive model, necessitating miners to vie for transaction verification. This competition entails being the first to solve intricate cryptographic puzzles to earn block rewards. The block rewards are often halved (reduced by 50%) every four years.
With the next Bitcoin halving event scheduled for April 2024, Bitcoin miners will see their block rewards reduced from 6.25 BTC to 3.125 BTC.
Meanwhile, the Binance Research team believes that BRC-20 transactions can serve as a necessary leeway for miners to make more transaction fees without relying solely on validating Bitcoin transactions.