Bitcoin BRC20: The Ultimate Beginner's Guide
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Bitcoin BRC20: The Ultimate Beginner's Guide
BRC-20 already has the potential to explode in the next bull market.
Navigating Web3 tides with focused insightsAuthors: Peng Yong & Block Unicorn
Since our last article, a week has passed, and information about BRC20 is now everywhere—the market is becoming increasingly greedy. This article will introduce various RC20 protocols and trading tools such as SOL20, SRC20, and more.
On Tuesday this week, Binance listed its second BRC20 (inscriptions) token—SATS—reigniting vitality across the entire BRC20 ecosystem and sending positive signals for further development and market performance of BRC20 tokens. Yi He, co-founder of Binance, stated during a livestream: "To be honest, we still have room for improvement in every aspect. Specifically, we have dedicated teams working on product R&D iterations—for example, addressing common user complaints about Web3 wallet functionality. We previously underinvested in certain areas, but we will continue optimizing and improving based on user feedback."
Due to insufficient support from Binance’s wallets for BRC20, it lost early competitive advantages. OKX stepped in early in May when BRC20 was emerging, actively participating in ecosystem development by enhancing wallet support for BRC20. According to Dune data on December 13, total transaction volume on Bitcoin's Ordinals protocol chain approached $920 million, with OKX Web3 Wallet capturing approximately 88% of the market share. Binance's recent listing of ORDI and SATS demonstrates its renewed commitment to supporting BRC20.
With continued backing from major exchanges like Binance and OKX, the BRC20 ecosystem and its tokens are showing strong future potential. As Binance continues listing new BRC20 tokens, broader recognition and liquidity can be expected. With increasing support from other mainstream platforms and wallets, the influence and scale of the BRC20 ecosystem will expand further, attracting greater attention and offering more opportunities for investors and participants.
How to Participate?
To participate in early-stage markets and opportunities, gaining knowledge of essential tools and foundational concepts helps reduce trading risks. The well-known BRC20 is a protocol built upon the Ordinals protocol, but there are many other RC20 protocols also based on Ordinals.
Fundamental Knowledge
Today, we’ll explain all Ordinals-based protocols in the most accessible way possible. Beyond BRC20, these include ARC20, IERC20 (Ethereum), CBRC20, SOL20 (Solana), DRC20 (DOGE), ASC20 (AVAX), ORC20, LRC20 (Litecoin), TRC20 (Tron), SRC20 (supports only Bitcoin addresses starting with “1”), Ethrunes (Ethereum Runes), and numerous other public chains launching their own RC20 variants based on Ordinals—with more being added continuously, too many to fully track.
You don’t need to learn every single one of these Ordinals-based BRC20-like protocols—and it would be impossible to fully understand them all. Instead, focus on understanding their underlying essence, which gives you a solid foundation for grasping the broader landscape.
Their fundamental mechanism mirrors that of BRC20: issuing tokens, NFTs, domains, tickets, stamps, etc., by transferring 1 satoshi (the smallest unit of Bitcoin) and writing identifier information into the transaction note field. Other RC20 protocols similarly use the smallest denomination of the base Layer-1 chain’s native token to issue assets. Indexers then parse and identify the embedded metadata within each unit. (For deeper insight into the technical foundation of BRC20, refer back to our previous article: “A New Wave in Bitcoin’s Ecosystem: The Present and Future of BRC20”.)
The differences between these protocols and BRC20 lie in specific modifications—such as simplifying data structures, reducing byte size, varying token name lengths, improving indexer efficiency, or enhancing security features. Just as different blockchains optimize for higher TPS, better security, or flexible smart contract coding, these RC20 variants make trade-offs tailored to their goals.
This article won’t dive deep into detailed technical comparisons. Its purpose is simply to provide basic awareness, gradually progressing from simple to complex topics in later discussions.
BRC20 Tools
The importance of tools in human life cannot be overstated—they significantly boost efficiency. In the Web3 environment, understanding wallets, trading platforms, and data analytics tools is crucial for managing funds and making informed trading decisions.
Wallets
1. OKX Web3 Wallet
Currently the most widely used wallet for BRC20 transactions, OKX Web3 Wallet supports not only BRC20 and ARC20 token issuance and trading—including NFTs and domains—but also RC20 protocols operating on smart contract-enabled blockchains. It receives widespread praise for its user experience. Moreover, OKX Web3 Wallet actively provides free assistance to resolve issues within various BRC20 protocols, helping advance industry-wide technical standards. The wallet is beginner-friendly, automatically displaying risk warnings when browsing untrusted websites.
Download link: www.okx.com
OKX Web3 Wallet currently supports BRC20 and SRC20 (this protocol only supports Bitcoin addresses starting with “1”, not bc1 addresses) on the Bitcoin network. While SRC20 is supported, it is not yet visible on the OKX frontend interface. Language-wise, the mobile app supports Chinese, while the web version supports 21 major languages.
Trading Market Features: Both the mobile and web versions of OKX Web3 Wallet have built-in functions for trading and minting BRC20 tokens, NFTs, and domains. Additionally, OKX Web3 Wallet offers strong market depth for BRC20 trades.
2. Unisat Wallet
An OG wallet in the BRC20 ecosystem, Unisat was the first to support the BRC20 protocol, paving the way for innovation in the space. Its DEX still requires users to accumulate sufficient points to unlock new features—as was the case back in April–May—with 400 points now required to access DEX functionality.
Download link: https://unisat.io/
Currently supports BRC20 and SRC20 (to trade SRC20 tokens, switch to an address starting with “1” in wallet settings). However, it lacks a mobile app and exists solely as a Chrome browser extension.
Trading Market Features: Unisat’s desktop web platform includes integrated capabilities for trading and minting BRC20 tokens, NFTs, and domains, offering market depth second only to OKX Web3 Wallet.
Summary: For trading and issuing BRC20 tokens, NFTs, domains, and similar assets, OKX Web3 Wallet and Unisat together cover nearly all user needs. For CR20 tokens, NFTs, and other assets issued on smart contract blockchains (like ETH, SOL, AVAX), OKX Web3 Wallet alone suffices.
3. Atomicals Wallet
Atomicals Wallet is currently the best option for interacting with the ARC20 protocol (Atomicals Protocol). It does not offer a mobile app—only a Chrome browser extension—and its web interface lacks an integrated trading market.
Download link: https://atomicalswallet.com/
4. Unielon Wallet
Unielon is a plugin wallet supporting the DRC20 protocol. Currently available only via web interface, without a mobile app. DRC20 refers to RC20 tokens issued on the DOGE (Dogechain) blockchain.
Download link: unielon.com
Trading Market Features: Unielon’s official website allows users to trade and issue DRC20 tokens, NFTs, domains, and other asset types. Trading works similarly to Uniswap, supporting LP (liquidity) pair creation, K-line charts, and data analytics.
To trade DRC20 tokens, users must first convert their Dogecoin (DOGE) into WDOGE using the -Wdoge- swap interface. After conversion, they can proceed to trade DRC20 tokens in the -Swap- section.
Summary: Atomicals Wallet exclusively supports the ARC20 protocol (Atomicals Protocol), which we will explore further later. There are other wallet tools available for Dogechain, but since I haven't personally used them, they’re not included here.
Trading Platform Tools
Below, I’ll introduce various RC20 trading tools. Since the above wallets cannot perform everything these specialized tools offer, we need a more powerful set of complementary tools.
ARC20 Marketplaces
1. Atomical Market – A trading platform enabling ARC20 token and NFT transactions. Users can mint tokens by entering names in the search bar. ARC20 stands for Atomicals Protocol (also known as ATOM), built on the Bitcoin network.
Link: atomicalmarket.com
SRC20 Marketplaces
1. Stampscan – Supports trading and issuing tokens, and provides top 100 holder distribution data. However, its trading volume and market depth are slightly weaker than Openstamp.
Link: www.stampscan.xyz
2. Openstamp – The leading platform for SRC20 tokens, NFTs, and stamps, offering the deepest liquidity. Also supports ARC20 token trading and minting, along with NFTs and stamps.
Link: openstamp.io
ASC20 Marketplaces
1. Avascription – The primary marketplace for ASC20. ASC20 is a protocol developed on the AVAX chain. Although general-purpose RC20 tokens can be managed through OKX Web Wallet, traders rely on Avascription to discover ASC20 tokens, check balances, transfer, monitor ongoing mints, and conduct trades and issuances.
Link: avascriptions.com
SOL20 Marketplaces
1. Tensor Trade – An NFT trading platform on the Solana blockchain that also supports SOL20 token and NFT trading.
Link: tensor.trade
2. MagicEden – Solana’s leading NFT marketplace. By switching to Solana mode on the site, users can view and trade SOL20 NFTs and tokens. Additionally, MagicEden supports BRC20 NFT trading.
Link: magiceden.io
IERC20 Marketplaces
1. IERC20 is the RC20 protocol on the Ethereum network. Users can trade, mint, and issue IERC20 tokens directly on its official website.
Link: ierc20.com
ETHs Marketplaces
1. Facetswap – A decentralized exchange (DEX) based on ETHs, similar in design to Uniswap. To trade, users must first convert ETH into FETH. A Bridge button at the top-right corner leads to the conversion interface.
Link: facetswap.com
2. Ethscriptions – Allows trading of ETHs NFTs, though the user experience is poor.
Link: Ethscriptions.com
3. ETCH – A platform for trading tokens, NFTs, and domains. It also serves as an Ethscriptions indexer and an IDO platform for ETHs.
Link: www.etch.market
Ethrunes Marketplaces
1. Ethrunes – An RC20 marketplace on Ethereum, often referred to as Ethereum Runes. Compatible with MetaMask and OKX Web3 Wallet, allowing direct trading, minting, and issuance of tokens.
Link: ethrunes.xyz
TRC20 Marketplaces
1. Trximarkets – A TRC20 marketplace built on the Tron (TRX) network, supporting TRC20 token trading, minting, transfers, and issuance. (Note: This platform carries relatively high risk.)
Link: Trximarkets.com
Summary: CBRC20 trading is cumbersome, requiring users to join a Discord community to place buy orders, while selling can be done via Runex.tech—an overall poor experience. ORC20 currently lacks any dedicated marketplace. LRC20 (Litecoin) sees minimal usage, so it isn’t covered here.
Data Tools
In this still-immature market, few reliable data platforms exist. Among existing options, BRC20 ecosystem data tools are the most developed.
BRC20 Data Tools
1. www.brc-20.io – The original (OG) BRC20 data platform. Offers BRC20 token market cap tracking, 24-hour trading volume, address balance checks, and includes a built-in DEX (decentralized exchange).
2. www.geniidata.com – A more comprehensive platform. Enables searches for newly launched BRC20 and ORC20 tokens, checks balances, tracks NFTs, monitors ongoing mints (including videos, SVGs, audio), and displays indices. Additionally, users can issue tokens, NFTs, and multimedia content directly through this platform.
Conclusion
The initial toolkit for BRC20 trading is already taking shape. With ongoing iteration and upgrades—especially the addition of DeFi functionalities like liquidity mining—the BRC20 ecosystem on the Bitcoin network is poised for explosive growth, delivering richer and more sophisticated trading experiences for users.
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