Bitcoin Developer's Critique Sparks Debate Over Runes Protocol
Luke Dashjr, a core developer of Bitcoin, has raised concerns about the Runes protocol, suggesting it exploits a fundamental flaw in the design of the Bitcoin blockchain network.
In a recent post on X, Dashjr pointed out the differing approaches of Ordinal Inscriptions and the Runes protocol when interacting with the network. He noted that while Ordinals exploit vulnerabilities within Bitcoin Core, the Runes protocol operates within the existing framework of the network's design flaws.
Ordinals, introduced last year, enable data inscription onto satoshis, akin to non-fungible tokens (NFTs), garnering significant attention within the crypto community.
On the contrary, Runes, fungible tokens launched after Bitcoin's fourth halving, caused substantial network congestion post-launch, leading to increased transaction fees.
Dashjr has consistently criticized both asset types, contending that they stray from Bitcoin's core principles and contribute to blockchain spam. He previously labeled Ordinals as a bug and spearheaded initiatives to address them through bug fixes.
In response to Runes, Dashjr proposed filtering out transactions related to the protocol by adjusting the "datacarriersize" setting to zero in the bitcoin.conf file. However, initial observations suggest miners are not adhering to this recommendation.
Ocean Mining, a decentralized mining pool where Dashjr serves as CTO, recently mined its first post-halving block, with over 75% of transactions originating from the Runes protocol. Dashjr acknowledged the prevalence of scammy Runes but noted they technically complied with OCEAN's recommended policies.
Bitcoin Transaction Fees Witness Significant Drop Post-Halving
Following a peak average fee of $128 on April 20, coinciding with Bitcoin's fourth halving, transaction fees experienced a notable decline.
As of April 21, medium-priority transaction fees ranged from $8 to $10 on the Bitcoin network, a considerable decrease from the previous day's highs.
The surge in total fees on the day of the halving, totaling $78.3 million, surpassed Ethereum's fees by over 24 times.
Block 840,000, the halving block, notably included a record-breaking 37.7 Bitcoin ($2.4 million) in transaction fees paid to Bitcoin miner ViaBTC. With 3,050 transactions, the average fee per user was under $800.
Enthusiasts of meme coins and NFTs were major contributors to the demand for block 840,000, competing to inscribe and etch rare satoshis using the Runes protocol.