- Trading volumes for BRC-20 tokens have surged exponentially from $10-15 million in November 2023 to over $500 million in January 2024, according to Kaiko data.
- Binance dominates early BRC-20 market share with 50%, while OKX has 35% share as the second-largest spot market.
- Controversy around BRC-20’s impact on Bitcoin fees and block space has sparked debate within the community.
Trade volume for tokens minted on the Bitcoin blockchain using the BRC-20 standard has increased exponentially since late 2023, according to data from blockchain analytics firm Kaiko.
BRC-20 Volume Jumps from $10-15 Million to Over $500 Million
In a report published on January 15th, Kaiko revealed that trading volumes for BRC-20 tokens skyrocketed from $10-15 million in November 2023 to over $500 million in January 2024.
Binance Dominates Early Market Share, OKX Also Significant
The dramatic increase in volume is attributed primarily to Binance, which recently added spot and perpetual futures trading for ORDI, SATS, and RATS, three popular BRC-20 tokens. Binance captured over 60% of market share initially when volumes surged to $2 billion after listing SATS and RATS, but has since declined to around 50% share.
Crypto exchange OKX, which was first to list ORDI, currently has 35% share as the second-largest spot market for BRC-20 tokens.
Controversy Around BRC-20’s Impact on Bitcoin Fees and Block Space
The report notes that the rising popularity of BRC-20 tokens has increased demand for block space on the Bitcoin blockchain, resulting in higher transaction fees. This has sparked some controversy, with Bitcoin Core developer Luke Dashjr claiming in December that BRC-20’s data inscription practices are spamming the network.
However, vocal Bitcoin advocate Udi Wertheimer has encouraged experimentation with BRC-20 and Bitcoin Ordinals, which allow NFT-like functionality on Bitcoin.
Introduced in March 2023, BRC-20 Leverages Bitcoin’s Ordinals Protocol
The BRC-20 token standard was introduced in March 2023 as a way to enable new token functionality on top of Bitcoin. It uses the Ordinals protocol to inscribe data on satoshis, the smallest units of BTC.
BRC-20 tokens and Ordinals are gaining traction as developers and investors continue to explore Bitcoin’s potential as a platform for innovation beyond just payments. However, concerns around their impact on Bitcoin’s scalability and fees continue to cause debate within the community.
