BRC-20
BRC-20 is an experimental fungible-token standard on Bitcoin, built on Ordinals inscriptions: JSON blobs declaring deploy, mint, and transfer operations, t
BRC-20 is an experimental fungible-token standard on Bitcoin, built on Ordinals inscriptions: JSON blobs declaring deploy, mint, and transfer operations, tracked off-chain by indexers. No smart contracts — social consensus plus indexer software *is* the ledger.
How it works
Deploy declares supply; users inscribe mint operations; transfers move inscribed sats. Indexers scan Bitcoin blocks and maintain balances. Everyone must trust the same indexer rules, because Bitcoin itself enforces none of this.
Why it matters for decentralization
BRC-20 stress-tests what “Bitcoin-native” means: tokens secured by Bitcoin’s fees and block space but governed by off-chain indexer consensus — a new trust layer wearing orange branding. Fascinating experiment, weaker guarantees than either L1 assets or real L2s. Fee spikes during manias also tax every other Bitcoin user.
Risks & trade-offs
Indexer centralization (few implementations, social-consensus upgrades); no contract enforcement (double-spend handling is convention); wallet complexity (inscription management is unforgiving); and mania-driven fee markets pricing out payments.
FAQ
BRC-20 vs ERC-20? ERC-20 is enforced by Ethereum code; BRC-20 is enforced by indexer operators agreeing. Different universes of assurance.
Why build tokens without contracts? Bitcoin maximalist aesthetics plus speculation. The honest answer includes both ideology and casino demand.
Future? Runes fixed several BRC-20 inefficiencies (UTXO-native design). The meta keeps evolving.