With the passing of the first month of 2024, the themes of the new year in the cryptocurrency ecosystem have begun to take shape. While discussions about Ordinals and the BRC-20 standard continue, it seems there is a consensus that BRC-20 cryptocurrencies, whose trading volume has increased tenfold since November 2023, will be among the leading crypto themes of 2024.

As the cryptocurrency ecosystem moves into the new year, important themes expected to dominate in 2024 are becoming clearer. Among these themes, Ordinals and the BRC-20 cryptocurrency standards stand out. The Ordinals protocol, developed in March 2023, which allows data inscriptions on satoshis, the smallest unit of Bitcoin, has attracted attention as a new type of cryptocurrency standard, and a recent report confirms this interest. According to a report released in mid-January by Kaiko, a blockchain analytics company based in France, the transaction volume of prominent BRC-20 cryptocurrencies such as ORDI, SATS, and RATS has increased from levels of $10-15 million since November 2023 to over $500 million, marking a tenfold increase.

Sharing his evaluations on the matter, Kafkas Sönmez, Director of Global Growth at Gate.io, stated, “The BRC-20 standard, adopted by leading exchanges worldwide, seems to be one of the prominent themes of 2024 in the crypto ecosystem. This standard, closely monitored for its opportunities and risks by leaders in the ecosystem, represents an important cornerstone in the development of Bitcoin.”

Approaching a market value of $2.5 billion

The total market value of the 60 tokens listed on the BRC-20 cryptocurrency list by CoinMarketCap has exceeded $2.4 billion, with ORDI taking the lead. ORDI is followed by cryptocurrencies such as 1000SATS, TRAC, MUBI, and LEVER. Kafkas Sönmez, emphasizing that the BRC-20 cryptocurrency standard is an extension of the Ordinals protocol developed by Casey Rodarmor, said, “This standard, which creates interchangeable tokens on the Bitcoin blockchain, signifies a more complex and beneficial innovation for the Bitcoin network. While the ERC-20 token standard is central to Ethereum networks, BRC-20 technology opens the door to new possibilities for Bitcoin’s future. Contrary to some interpretations suggesting that BRC-20 could replace Bitcoin in regular transactions, it actually enhances block efficiency in the blockchain.”

Reminiscent of Bitcoin’s innovative nature

Referring to the surge of ERC-20 tokens on the Ethereum chain starting in 2017, which led to an almost 30-fold increase in Ethereum’s price within a year, Kafkas Sönmez said, “In various interpretations, BRC-20 is considered as an approach to replicate Ethereum’s success in the Bitcoin ecosystem. Despite some criticisms, advocates of the BRC-20 standard believe that Ordinals and BRC-20 technologies make crypto fun again and remind us of Bitcoin’s experimental and innovative nature. Even founders of the Ethereum Foundation have commented that Ordinals technology represents a ‘culture of really doing something.’ BRC-20 promises exponential growth potential for the Bitcoin ecosystem in 2024.”

Introducing BRC-20 tokens to the market

Reminding that Gate.io recently announced its Inscription Presale Platform and Navigation Services, Kafkas Sönmez concluded his remarks by saying, “Gate.io sees value in BRC-20 and related technologies. For this reason, we announced our presale platform, our Launchpad, to bring various blockchain protocols supporting Bitcoin NFTs, BRC-20 tokens, and Ethscriptions to the crypto ecosystem and to give credibility to promising projects. This aligns with Gate.io’s vision of being an exchange that supports the ecosystem at every stage. Users will have the opportunity to participate in new BRC-20 and other inscription projects in a fair environment, early on. With our navigation services, which provide a more holistic view of developments in the blockchain, we will facilitate easier tracking of developments in the inscription-focused area with enriched graphics and comprehensive information.”