BRC-20 protocol
Overview
BRC-20 is an experimental fungible token standard for Bitcoin, introduced by a pseudonymous developer known as Domo on 9 March 2023. It builds on the Ordinals protocol launched by Casey Rodarmor in January 2023, which allows arbitrary data to be inscribed onto individual satoshis. BRC-20 works by inscribing JSON text to deploy, mint and transfer tokens: the state of balances is derived by indexers reading those inscriptions in order, rather than being enforced by smart contracts — unlike ERC-20, BRC-20 uses no smart contracts at all, which is why it is described as experimental. Domo minted the first BRC-20 token, ORDI, in March 2023. What the creator framed on Twitter as a 'fun experiment' grew rapidly, reaching about $991 million in aggregate market capitalisation by early May 2023 and driving a surge in Bitcoin network activity and fees. Casey Rodarmor launched Ordinals in January 2023, enabling inscriptions on satoshis. Domo introduced BRC-20 on 9 March 2023 and minted ORDI as the first BRC-20 token. By early May 2023 BRC-20 tokens had reached roughly $991 million in market capitalisation.
Within the DeFi Intel graph, BRC-20 connects to 10 tracked entities, most strongly to Bitcoin, Runes Protocol, Ordinals Protocol.
Relations
Top connections in the DeFi Intel knowledge graph (confidence-weighted, 10 of 10 total).
| Relation | Connected entity | Confidence |
|---|---|---|
deployed_on | Bitcoin | 95% |
competes_with | Runes Protocol | 95% |
built_on | Ordinals Protocol | 95% |
supports | Unisat | 95% |
issued_on | Ordi | 95% |
forked_from | Runes Protocol | 85% |
supports | Leather Wallet | 85% |
supports | Xverse Wallet | 85% |
issued_on | SATS (BRC-20) | 85% |
issued_on | RATS (BRC-20) | 85% |
Frequently asked questions
What is BRC-20?
BRC-20 is an other tracked in the DeFi Intel knowledge graph. It is connected to 10 other tracked entities, most strongly to Bitcoin, Runes Protocol, Ordinals Protocol.
What type of entity is BRC-20?
BRC-20 is classified as an other (protocol) in the DeFi Intel knowledge graph.
What is BRC-20 connected to?
In the DeFi Intel knowledge graph, BRC-20 is linked to 10 other tracked entities, most strongly to Bitcoin, Runes Protocol, Ordinals Protocol.
Live news feed, full graph, and search.