Runes 2.0, the three major narratives of Bitcoin ecosystem: Alkanes&RSM, is the next ORDI appearing?

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Recently, the calm #Bitcoin ecosystem has rippled. The market value of $METHANE, the first token of the #Alkanes protocol, which is considered to be at its peak, has exploded from about 1M to 10M+ in a short period of time, attracting the attention of many communities and KOLs, and has joined the #Alkanes construction, and the support of agent tools one by one. The Bitcoin ecosystem has not been so lively for a long time. It seems to have returned to the scene of the explosion of Bitcoin ecological protocol in 2023. Today, $METHANE has stabilized at a market value of more than 10 million, and is called the next $ORDI by the community. This situation of multiple times a day is common in SOL and BSC, but in the current Bitcoin ecological environment, even a ripples are like a thunder, alarming countless noises. It is like a blind man suddenly seeing the light, full of beautiful longing for the future.

The Alkanes protocol I call Runes 2.0. Alkanes is based on Runes and is a meta-protocol that introduces smart contracts into Bitcoin L1.

So under what circumstances did the Alkanes protocol be born?

Things start with Runes...

Memories mode

The Birth of Runes

Runes was first proposed by Casey @rodarmor (founder of the Ordinal protocol) in September 2023 as an alternative to BRC20. BRC20 has been criticized for its reliance on JSON inscriptions, resulting in on-chain data redundancy, network congestion and high gas fees. Runes use Bitcoin's UTXO model and OP_RETURN opcode to design a more efficient and concise token issuance mechanism, with the goal of improving performance and reducing the burden on the network.

Features

• Concise and efficient : Runes are directly based on Bitcoin native UTXO model, without complex off-chain indexes or JSON inscriptions, with smaller data occupancy and faster transaction processing.
• Decentralized minting : Similar to BRC20, Runes emphasize fair issuance, allowing users to mint tokens freely.
• Strong compatibility : Runes are highly compatible with the Bitcoin protocol and can be achieved without soft forks, lowering the technical threshold.
• Flexibility : Supports multiple token types (homogeneity/non-homogeneity) and provides developers with greater creative space.

Development and impact

• Launched in 2024 : Runes are officially activated at the Bitcoin block height of 840,000 (when the halving was reduced in April 2024). The first batch of rune tokens quickly triggered a market boom, and the market value of some projects surged in a short period of time. For example: $DOG
• Miner 's income : Similar to BRC20, the rune casting boom brought a large amount of handling fees for miners (GAS was once close to 3,000), especially after the halving, it made up for the loss of block rewards.
• Ecological expansion : Runes have promoted Bitcoin Layer 1's token experiment, attracting developers to explore decentralized applications (DeFi, NFT, etc.), and further enriching the ecosystem.
• Community Response : Despite the shortcomings of runes optimizing BRC20, there are still "Bitcoin purists" who criticized it for deviating from the original intention of "peer-to-peer electronic cash", believing that the token boom has intensified speculation.

Current Situation and Challenges

As of April 2025, the rune ecosystem has begun to take shape, with thousands of rune tokens circulating, and the market value of some top projects (such as #RSIC, #DOG) has performed well. However, runes still face challenges:

Application limitations: Similar to BRC20, runes mostly stay at the "issuance

• transaction" level and lack complex application scenarios.

Market competition: The DeFi and MEME ecosystems of chains such as Ethereum and Solana are more mature, attracting a lot of capital and attention, and runes need to find a unique positioning.

Turn

At this time, Alkanes quietly went online on March 18 with this responsibility, which caused heated discussions in the Bitcoin community.

What is Alkanes ?

Alkanes is a Bitcoin-based application layer meta-protocol, aiming to implement smart contract functions on Bitcoin L1 through the Protorunes protocol and OP_RETURN output, and support decentralized application (dApp) development.

Technology implementation

Alkanes uses Rust to write smart contracts, compiled into WebAssembly (WASM), and stored in compressed files on the Bitcoin blockchain through witness scripts, ensuring efficient deployment and execution.

Protocol Features

Inheriting the Runes and Ordinals protocols, Alkanes combines the Metashrew indexer to provide verifiable on-chain state management and asset views, supporting complex trust protocols and state machines.

Advantages

Without trusting third parties, Alkanes utilizes the decentralized features of Bitcoin to ensure the security and transparency of smart contracts, providing developers with flexible dApp building tools.

Alkanes sparked heated discussions when it first went online, but the popularity did not last long. It quickly submerged under the current situation and became the representative of the peak of its debut. With the support of iDclub@idclub_ordMarketplace, it regained its vitality and ignited a raging fire, illuminating the Bitcoin ecology.

The prelude to the Bitcoin ecosystem DeFi empire has quietly opened, and the story is not the only one.

The Runes2.0 solution is not Alkanes.

In June 2024, Mikael@MikaelBTC proposed the programmable rune solution RSM (Runes State Machine) @RSM_Runes, which was also the only Runes protocol at that time. It was very popular. The protocol token $RSM also reached a market value of tens of millions. Is this the next ORDI?

What is RSM?

#RSM is a programmable rune solution, a Turing complete state machine for #Runes and Bitcoin, Runes2.0, RunesFi and BTCFi on Bitcoin L1 by Mikael @MikaelBTC.

Technology implementation

Smart contracts drive state management, transactions trigger decentralized computing; UTXO and state machine dual models are converted through burn2/burn3, mint2/mint3; decentralized computing without custody; token nesting supports independent logic; DAO governance contract (Contract-001). RSM uses Bitcoin consensus to ensure security, modular design to expand dApps development capabilities.

Protocol Features

The RSM protocol gives rune protocol strong programmability and DeFi potential through Turing completeness, dual-model architecture, decentralized computing and governance, token nesting and other features. It takes into account the security and scalability of Bitcoin, supports complex dApps development, while maintaining decentralization and user control. Its openness and community-driven model injects vitality into the Bitcoin Layer 1 ecosystem.

Advantages

The RSM protocol gives unique advantages to the rune protocol through strong programmability, decentralized security, dual-model flexibility, modular expansion, community governance, Bitcoin compatibility and open ecosystem. While maintaining the core features of Bitcoin, it significantly improves the DeFi potential of Layer 1, provides developers with a flexible framework and provides users with a safe and reliable experience.

The difference between the two Runes 2.0 solutions

Alkanes : Alkanes is based on Runes, but is an independent agreement. Facing challenges, it needs support from the mainstream trading markets of Bitcoin ecosystem OKX@OKXWallet_CN, UniSat@unisat_wallet, Magic Eden@MEonBTC, etc.

RSM : RSM is a programmable Runes solution. Facing the challenge, it needs to convince the founder of the Runes protocol, Casey@rodarmor, to adopt its solution and upgrade the original Runes protocol.

end

Although the two major protocols, Alkanes and RSM have different structures, they have made great contributions to solving the problem of Bitcoin ecological liquidity and being unable to achieve decentralized DeFi.

Runes 2.0 will eventually explode, allowing the Bitcoin ecosystem to show its dazzling light.

Make Bitcoin Magic Again! ! !