If you are one of those who think Bitcoin Blockchain is all about bitcoins, the introduction of BRC-20 tokens is changing all that. A new ecosystem built on Bitcoin as a blockchain is emerging. Are we about to see Bitcoin-based smart contracts, NFTs, etc?
Bitcoin, the blockchain technology, was primarily designed to enhance peer-to-peer transactions or payments, enabling bitcoin (BTC), the biggest cryptocurrency in the world today. While the emergence of BTC, the cryptocurrency application of Bitcoin, has greatly transformed the financial landscape gradually providing an alternative to traditional fiat currencies, the limited capabilities of the Bitcoin blockchain has been a challenge for the blockchain industry.
In particular, the Bitcoin blockchain lacked smart contracts capabilities and consequently, was incapable of hosting decentralized applications (dApps) or non-fungible tokens (NFTs). This eventually led to the introduction of several advanced and smart contract-enabled blockchains such as Ethereum, Cardano, Solana, Polygon, etc.
Remarkably, the Bitcoin blockchain recorded some striking developments in 2023, including the introduction of the Ordinals protocol and BRC-20 token standard. Notably, BRC-20 tokens are fungible tokens created on the Bitcoin blockchain, operating similarly to ERC-20 and BEP-20 tokens. In this article, we highlight the top BRC-20 tokens in the crypto market.
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Top BRC-20 Tokens by Market Cap
The BRC-20 token ecosystem has continued to expand as market participants uphold their interest in Bitcoin-based fungible and non-fungible tokens. At the time of writing, BRC-20 tokens available in the crypto market stood at 56 per Coinmarketcap data, with a cumulative market cap of over 2.7 billion. Below are the top BRC-20 tokens by market valuation:
- ORDI Coin (ORDI)
ORDI is the leading BRC-20 token with a market cap of $1.17 billion at press time. Inscribed on March 8, 2023, ORDI Coin emerged as the first BRC-20 token on the Bitcoin network created using the Ordinals protocol. Being the foremost BRC-20 token in the crypto market, the memecoin has received huge adoption from both investors and support from exchanges.
Per Ordinalscan data, total ORDI holders stood at 15,665 at press time. Meanwhile, more than 20 crypto exchanges including Binance and Coinbase have listed the memecoin with more listings expected to happen. Adopting the tokenomics of BTC, ORDI was designed to have a maximum supply of 21 million tokens. Notably, the memecoin rose to an all-time high of $90.96 on January 2, 2024, with an all-time low of $2.86.
- SATS
Described as the “most memeable memecoin” in the Bitcoin ecosystem and named after Bitcoin’s smallest unit satoshi, SATS is the second-largest BRC-20 token by market cap. At the time of writing, the total investment in the emerging memecoin equalled $927.5 million as shown on Coinmarketcap.
Represented as 1000SATS on most crypto exchanges, the token has an all-time high of $0.0009348, with an all-time low of $0.0003609. Some of the top exchanges to trade SATS include Binance, OKX, Kucoin, Poloniex, MEXC, Bitget, and Gate.io amongst others. SATS has a total supply of 2.1 trillion tokens.
- MUBI
Another hot shot in the BRC-20 token ecosystem is MUBI, the native currency of Multibit Bridge. According to its website, MultiBit Bridge is designed to serve the Bitcoin ecosystem by enabling interoperability between Bitcoin and other blockchain networks using cross-chain methods.
In particular, the project was developed to enable the transfer of BRC20 tokens to other networks, making Multibit Bridge the first to facilitate cross-bridge operations for Bitcoin-based tokens. Moreover, MultiBit offers other products including farming, an NFT bridge and Ordinals Automated Market Maker — a decentralized exchange protocol designed specifically for trading BRC20 tokens.
Notably, MUBI powers Multibit’s entire decentralized ecosystem. MUBI has a total and circulating supply of 1,000,000,000 and 950,000,000 tokens, respectively. The token is the third-largest in the BRC-20 token category with a market cap of $124.3 million at press time. According to Coingecko data, it reached an all-time high of $0.36 in December 2023. MUBI can be traded on several exchanges including MEXC, Bitget, Uniswap and Gate.io amongst others.
Read also: Solana and Its Ecosystem: Blockchain, Token, and Projects
- TRAC (Ordinals)
With a market cap of over $109 million as of January 27, TRAC is among the leading BRC-20 tokens in the crypto market. It is the native currency of the Trac network, a decentralized Ordinals and bitcoin metaprotocol tracking platform. The total supply of TRAC is capped at 21 million tokens. Remarkably, the BRC-20 token surged to an all-time high of $7.88 in December 2023 after reaching an all-time low of $0.0039 in June 2023. Changing hands at $5.2 per token at press time, TRAC is up 12909% from its ATL.
- ORDS
ORDS has also emerged among the most promising BRC-20 ecosystem tokens, having secured partnerships with top entities, including LayerZero, Thorchain, Genblock Capital, Monday Capital, Insquare Ventures etc. Notably, it is the native token of Ordiswap, a dynamic AMM infrastructure for BRC-20 that aims to unlock unparalleled liquidity on Bitcoin’s native layer. In other words, the interoperable utility token is used to enable seamless operation across Bitcoin’s native layer and the Ethereum network on Ordiswap.
ORDS has a fixed total supply of 1 billion tokens. However, it has a circulating supply of roughly 459.6 million tokens and a market cap of approximately $34.4 million at the time of writing. Moreover, its all-time high and all-time low are $0.1 and $0.036, respectively. ORDS can be traded on several platforms including Gate.io, Bitget, Pancakeswap, MEXC, HTX, etc.
Read also: Introduction to Polygon and Its Ecosystem
Conclusion
The crypto industry has continued to evolve with lots of innovations rolling in across different blockchains, including Bitcoin. Introduced in 2023, the BRC-20 token standard emerged as one of the most striking developments in the crypto industry. Since then, numerous bitcoin-based cryptocurrencies including ORDI, SATS, MUBI, TRAC and ORDS amongst others. While this category of cryptoassets may appear promising, investments should be made with caution.
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Credit: Ndianabasi Tom A crypto journalist and content writer who has been talking about cryptocurrency and blockchain technology since 2018, Ndianabasi is a Writer at Crypto Asset Buyer (CAB).
