A Quick Overview of SRC-20

What are Bitcoin Stamps?

Before understanding SRC-20, it’s important to know about Bitcoin Stamps, a new Bitcoin NFT protocol. Bitcoin Stamps has gained market attention due to permanent storage. It was created by an anonymous developer named Mike In Space, inspired by Ordinals and Counterparty. This protocol embeds image data in base64 format in a novel way and permanently stores it on-chain. The only size limit for Bitcoin Stamps files is the Bitcoin transaction size limit, which is around 7-8 KB for images.

The Counterparty Protocol existed as early as 2014. The “Rare Pepes,” considered pioneers of NFTs, used this protocol at one point. Its key feature is the ability to write data into the space of Bitcoin blocks, embedding data into native Bitcoin transactions.

Source: Bitcoin Stamps

What is SRC-20?

SRC-20 is an advanced specification based on Bitcoin Stamps and modeled after BRC-20. Initially, it used Counterparty for on-chain broadcasts, but after block 796,000, it optimized transaction sizes to lower the costs of SRC-20 transactions.

SRC-20 transactions are now directly created on Bitcoin (BTC) and no longer support Counterparty transaction types. Minting, deploying, and transferring SRC-20 tokens incur no service fees, but BTC miner fees are required upon completion from supported wallets.

Requirements for SRC-20 tokens include:

1. Length must be 1-5 characters
2. Allowed characters include any word character, alphanumeric character, underscore, special characters (e.g., ~!@#$%^&?), and printable emoji symbols from U+1F300 to U+1F5FF
3. The third multisig public key must be a valid Keyburn address
4. Tokens are case-insensitive (e.g., DOGE = doge)
5. The maximum mint/transfer amount is uint64_max 18446744073709551615

What are the Differences Between SRC-20 and BRC-20?

BRC-20 stores date in the Segregated Witness (SegWit) portion of Bitcoin blocks, which theoretically could be optimized or removed. In contrast, SRC-20 embeds data directly into the Bitcoin blockchain’s UTXOs, making the data an immutable and permanent part of the blockchain. Therefore, SRC-20 is superior to BRC-20 in terms of security and permanence.

However, SRC-20’s storage process requires UTXOs, which limits the data capacity to only 8KB and results in relatively higher minting costs. Minting costs around 60 USDT or more, while the BRC-20 protocol has lower technical costs and is simpler.

Both protocols are innovations based on the Bitcoin layer-1 chain, but they are suitable for different scenarios and needs. SRC-20 provides a more permanent solution, while BRC-20 offers a more economical approach.

How to Participate in the SRC-20 Market?

Currently, the SRC-20 market is still in its early development phase, and the infrastructure is not yet complete. Below are some essential tools and guides to help you participate in the SRC-20 market.

SRC-20 Wallet: Leather Wallet (Hiro Wallet)

To purchase SRC-20 assets, the first step is to choose a wallet compatible with the Bitcoin network. Wallets that support the Bitcoin asset list, purchases, and transfers include Unisat and Leather Wallet (previously called Hiro Wallet).

Leather wallet addresses start with “bc1q,” which is the prefix used for current Bitcoin Stamp inscriptions. Leather Wallet supports BTC, Ordinals, Stamps, BRC-20 tokens, STX, Stacks NFTs, and other Bitcoin chain assets.

Source: Leather Wallet

Leather Wallet Advantages

• Send/receive BTC and chain assets via SegWit and Taproot addresses
• View/manage multiple Bitcoin addresses and activity across accounts
• Mint and trade Ordinals, BRC-20 tokens, Stamps, Stacks NFTs on decentralized markets
• Connect to decentralized apps via the Bitcoin Naming System (BNS)
• Manage STX and other tokens based on the Stacks blockchain
• Execute Stacks smart contracts (buy/trade assets, participate in DAOs, etc.)
• Lock your STX to participate in Stacking and get the chance to earn BTC rewards
• Leather Wallet is 100% open source and audited by security professionals

SRC-20 Inscription Availability Check

Before minting, check which SRC-20 inscriptions are still available. Like BRC-20, SRC-20 also has its popular tokens, with the $Kevin token being the most popular on SRC-20 as it was the first to be released.

The minting volume of the $Kevin has exceeded 100%, indicating that all tokens have been minted. Make sure to check the minting progress. Once it exceeds 100%, minting is completed, and any minting done after 100% is considered invalid.

Source: Stampchain

Minting & Querying SRC-20

One of the leading websites for minting SRC-20 is https://stampchain.io/src20/. After selecting the desired asset, users can click “Mint” and enter the tick and quantity, along with the address, to receive SRC-20. It is important to note that the address selected to receive SRC-20 or Stamps images should start with “bc1q”. Additionally, it’s advisable to create a new wallet for minting, rather than using a wallet containing BRC-20, to prevent NFTs from being mistaken for gas fees.

In addition to minting, Stampchain.io also provides SRC-20 minting tools. Currently, there are over 300 SRC20 stamps available. Some SRC-20 tokens include “kevin,” “stamp,” “pepe,” “bobo,” “shib,” “punks,” and “rare,” among others.

After completing the minting process, users can visit this website and enter the serial number of the Stamps to check if the assets have been credited. Once users enter their SRC-20 receiving address, they can see when the assets have been credited. Additionally, transaction details can also be viewed at https://xchain.io.

NFT Market - Rarestamp

At present, SRC-20 is in its early stages, with the NFT trading market being particularly scarce. Most users conduct Stamp NFT transactions by visiting Rarestamp. Some of the hottest NFT series on SRC-20 can be traded and purchased on Rarestamp, including Pixel Gods, 3GGS, Eternal Rare, Stamp Punks, Stamp Wizards, Stamp Pepes, Stamp Pepes Not, and Classic Arcade.

Source: Rarestamp

Conclusion

In terms of infrastructure, Ordinals has a first-mover advantage, while the infrastructure related to Bitcoin Stamps is still incomplete, and there is limited support or integration from mainstream trading platforms. However, with increasing attention on SRC-20 in the market, it is foreseeable that more public chains will join in, injecting more vitality into the market. SRC-20 still requires more infrastructure development and support.

The explosion of Ordinals originated from early explorations of the possibilities of Bitcoin NFTs. On the other hand, Stamps offer stronger security, immutability, and scalability. Currently, the development of the BRC-20 and SRC-20 ecosystems is still in a relatively early stage. Both BTC Stamps and Ordinals are not mature yet, leaving ample room for future development. When participating in minting SRC-20 assets, everyone should exercise caution and pay attention to related risks.