BRC-20 Market Cap Hits $700M as Gate.io Enables Trading and Deposit Support

2023-05-08, 06:31

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BRC-20 is a new token standard built atop <a href="/uk/price/bitcoin-btc" target="_blank" class="blog_inner_link">Bitcoin</a> that is rapidly gaining traction. Created as an experiment by a pseudonymous on-chain analyst named Domo, BRC-20 allows for the creation of token contracts that exist directly on <a href="/uk/price/bitcoin-btc" target="_blank" class="blog_inner_link">Bitcoin</a>’s blockchain. So, what was initially just an exploratory idea has now morphed into a $700M market with thousands of tokens and counting.

![](https://gimg2.gateimg.com/image/article/168352730312121312341.png)

Although named similarly, <a href="/uk/price/bitcoin-btc" target="_blank" class="blog_inner_link">Bitcoin</a>’s BRC-20 differs from the <a href="/uk/price/ethereum-eth" target="_blank" class="blog_inner_link">Ethereum</a>-based ERC-20, especially in the way that ERC-20 supports smart contracts while BRC-20 does not. However, BRC-20 is modelled similarly to ERC-20 in that it enables the creation and transfer of fungible tokens, albeit on <a href="/uk/price/bitcoin-btc" target="_blank" class="blog_inner_link">Bitcoin</a> rather than <a href="/uk/price/ethereum-eth" target="_blank" class="blog_inner_link">Ethereum</a>.

## What is BRC-20?
BRC-20 spawned out of the Ordinals protocol that gained attention in early 2023 for popularizing NFTs on <a href="/uk/price/bitcoin-btc" target="_blank" class="blog_inner_link">Bitcoin</a>. Ordinals use data attached to satoshis, known as in_script_ions, to create NFTs. BRC-20 uses the same process but to create a token contract for fungible tokens. These BRC-20 tokens can then be traded or transferred.

While many of the new BRC-20 tokens created in the recent surge are memecoins, this new standard could still have some benefits over existing ones. For starters, it’s built upon <a href="/uk/price/bitcoin-btc" target="_blank" class="blog_inner_link">Bitcoin</a>’s proof-of-work blockchain, regarded for its high security and decentralization. Additionally, because the standard is built on <a href="/uk/price/bitcoin-btc" target="_blank" class="blog_inner_link">Bitcoin</a> without modification, it can seamlessly integrate into <a href="/uk/price/bitcoin-btc" target="_blank" class="blog_inner_link">Bitcoin</a>’s ecosystem.

While BRC-20 has the advantage of being <a href="/uk/price/bitcoin-btc" target="_blank" class="blog_inner_link">Bitcoin</a>-based, it is still bound to the limitations of the network it’s built upon, especially when compared to <a href="/uk/price/ethereum-eth" target="_blank" class="blog_inner_link">Ethereum</a>’s ERC-20. At the core, the BRC-20 ecosystem lacks developers as its relatively new and experimental. Further, <a href="/uk/price/bitcoin-btc" target="_blank" class="blog_inner_link">Bitcoin</a> is more used for its peer-to-peer transactions or as a store of value. In contrast, <a href="/uk/price/ethereum-eth" target="_blank" class="blog_inner_link">Ethereum</a> is built specifically for smart contracts, posing challenges for BRC-20 in supporting more complex functionality and for user adoption.

## Where to trade BRC-20 tokens?
Despite its popularity, the relatively new status of BRC-20 means that several platforms and wallets are still racing to support the standard. However, [Gate.io](https://www.gate.io/startup/?ch=GM_blog_brc_20230508&utm_campaign=TR_dw1gvTQm&utm_content=&utm_medium=ptr&utm_source=CH_sApqy83F&utm_term= "Gate.io") is the first major centralized exchange to announce support for BRC-20 trading, deposits, and withdrawals.

Following the announcement of BRC-20 support, [Gate.io](https://www.gate.io/startup/?ch=GM_blog_brc_20230508&utm_campaign=TR_dw1gvTQm&utm_content=&utm_medium=ptr&utm_source=CH_sApqy83F&utm_term= "Gate.io") announced spot and contract market support for Ordinals (ORDI) tokens– not to be confused with Ordinals as a protocol. The ORDI token is the largest BRC-20 token by market cap, sitting at around $500M as of writing.

## What lies ahead for BRC-20?
BRC-20 may have a bright future, as fungible and non-fungible tokens are mostly unexplored territory on <a href="/uk/price/bitcoin-btc" target="_blank" class="blog_inner_link">Bitcoin</a> apart from a few previous attempts that failed to gain traction. The rapid popularity of the relatively new BRC-20 and Ordinals shows rising interest in expanded uses for the <a href="/uk/price/bitcoin-btc" target="_blank" class="blog_inner_link">Bitcoin</a> blockchain. Whether it be BRC-20 or the next <a href="/uk/price/bitcoin-btc" target="_blank" class="blog_inner_link">Bitcoin</a> experiment, users, developers and project creators are attracted to newly unlocked functionality on <a href="/uk/price/bitcoin-btc" target="_blank" class="blog_inner_link">Bitcoin</a>.

Author: Global Marketing Aaron
This article represents only the views of the researcher and does not constitute any investment suggestions.
Gate.io reserves all rights to this article. Reposting of the article will be permitted provided Gate.io is referenced. In all cases, legal action will be taken due to copyright infringement.

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