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Casey Rodarmor, the controversial creator of Bitcoin’s Ordinal and Rune protocols, recently discussed the motivations and implications of his work on the Bitcoin network at Consensus 2024 in Austin, Texas.
Rodarmor claims that the purpose of his work on Ordinals and Runes is to keep Bitcoin secure and its applications secure as well, allowing individuals to transact and use the network as they see fit, free of state authority and censorship.
“I think the only interesting thing about any kind of blockchain is the degree to which it can resist governments,” Rodarmor said.
Rodarmor’s protocol has received both enthusiasm and criticism from the Bitcoin community. Ordinal numbers allow you to create trackable Satoshis, similar to non-fungible tokens (NFTs), on the Bitcoin blockchain, and Runes, launched to coincide with the Bitcoin halving event on April 19, 2024, allows you to create Satoshis on Ethereum. You can create tradable assets similar to the tokens of . .
Despite the controversy, Rodarmor claims his work is a testament to Bitcoin’s permissionless nature and shows that it is possible to build applications on the network that are as censorship-resistant as Bitcoin transactions themselves.
He acknowledged that while Runes may be less important than Bitcoin itself, they provide the “niche, fun, decadent thing” that cryptocurrency traders seem to want, while also contributing to Bitcoin’s fee economics. Rodarmor also addressed Bitcoin’s “anarchic” governance structure, describing it as “dysfunctional” but likely the best form of governance for the network.
He notes that while the lack of formal governance makes some people uncomfortable, there is a significant lack of centralized control that would allow for the development of protocols like Ordinal and Rune that would not otherwise have been allowed.
“What makes people uncomfortable about Bitcoin governance is that there is no formal governance (…) we actually want it to be an anarchic and messy process,” Rodarmor argued.
The historic halving event in April 2024 saw fees paid for Bitcoin blocks reach an all-time high of over $2.4 million in BTC. Trading fees have since normalized, but are still higher than the sub-dollar prices seen for most of 2022 and 2023.
Rodarmor believes his work contributes to the security and robustness of the Bitcoin network by attracting users and generating transaction fees. This will become increasingly important as mining subsidies decline over time.
Despite criticism from some prominent figures in the Bitcoin community, including Bitcoin core developer Luke Dashjr, Rodarmor remains committed to his work as a self-described “enthusiast” developing these protocols without grants or funding. He believes his project gives people a preview of the fate of Bitcoin and the potential for a sustainable fee economy.
Note: A previous version of this article quoted Rodarmor as saying he “supports” the government. This was modified to “resistance” based on a modified transcription from Daniel Kuhn’s earlier post citing the former.
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