- Runecoin, a token etched using the new Bitcoin Runes protocol, hit an all-time high price overnight after cryptocurrency exchange OKX announced plans to list the token.
- OKX will list Runecoin on Tuesday, April 30, following a 24-hour rewards campaign that lets customers earn a share of tokens by staking their Bitcoin (BTC) on the exchange’s platform.
- Centralized exchanges have been quick to embrace the new Runes protocol, with Gateio listing a few prominent Runes tokens within the first couple of days after the launch, and now OKX listing its first with Runecoin.
Runecoin, a token etched using the new Bitcoin Runes protocol and associated with the prominent RSIC Metaprotocol Ordinals collection, hit a new all-time high price overnight after cryptocurrency exchange OKX announced plans to list the token.
OKX Listing Details
OKX will list Runecoin on Tuesday, April 30, following a 24-hour rewards campaign that lets customers earn a share of tokens by staking their Bitcoin (BTC) on the exchange’s platform. Runecoin will be the first Runes token listed by the centralized exchange, though OKX’s peer-to-peer Web3 marketplace already supports Runes token trades.
Following the announcement, the price of Runecoin jumped to a new all-time high price of 29 satoshis, or just under $0.02 per token. The sizable supply of 21 billion tokens puts the Runecoin market cap at $316 million at the current price of 24 satoshis, down from the overnight peak. It’s the most-traded Runes token over the last 24 hours according to both OKX and Magic Eden.
OKX is putting up 17.5% of the total supply, or 3,675,000,000 tokens, for the daylong rewards campaign, letting OKX customers earn a share of the token before trading begins on the exchange on Tuesday. The OKX Jumpstart campaign is similar to Binance‘s Launchpool, helping expose new coins to crypto traders while providing benefits to exchange users.
Centralized Exchange Adoption
Bitcoin’s new Runes fungible token standard launched late Friday alongside the quadrennial halving event, and the immediate demand pushed network fees to a level never before seen on the original blockchain network. Already at least one centralized exchange, or CEX, has already taken notice and gotten in on the action. The Cayman Islands-based exchange Gateio has already listed three of the earliest Runes tokens on Bitcoin: SATOSHINAKAMOTO (no connection to the pseudonymous Bitcoin creator).
Centralized exchanges—which typically require identifying information from users unlike a decentralized exchange (DEX)—have been quick to embrace the new protocol. Gateio listed a few of the prominent Runes tokens within the first couple days after the launch, and now OKX is about to list its first with Runecoin.
Runecoin Community Response
This is a monumental achievement marking the first listing of a Bitcoin Rune on a leading exchange,” the project wrote on Twitter. “This huge step aligns with Runecoin’s mission to bootstrap adoption, education and innovation of Ordinals, Runes and Bitcoin.”
“This is not just a milestone for our community, but a significant step forward for the entire Runes ecosystem,” they added.
Conclusion
The new Runes protocol is generating a lot of excitement and activity on the Bitcoin network. The listing of Runecoin on major exchange OKX is a validation of the new standard and will likely spur further adoption and development. It will be interesting to see which other exchanges embrace Runes tokens, and how quickly new projects emerge that take advantage of the capabilities enabled by this new Bitcoin primitive.
