Markets
Are Bitcoin runes back? Meme Coin Surge pushes market cap to over $2 billion
For the first time, the collective market capitalization of tokens in the Bitcoin-based Rune protocol eclipsed $2 billion, further debunking the narrative that the new ecosystem for meme coins built on the Bitcoin network is dead on arrival.
At the moment, tokens in Runas have a collective value of $2.06 billion, according to data analytics platform Bitcoin GeniiData. Last week, that number surpassed $1 billion for the first time.
The increase in value appears to be largely attributed to one Rune token in particular, DOG•GO•TO•THE•MOON (also known as DOG). DOG has emerged up more than 90% in the last week, at a price that still remains a fraction of a cent. Its market capitalization now stands at $797 million – making it the ninth most valuable meme coin across all blockchains, according to CoinGecko.
The recent rise in value of Runes appears to be something of a blessing for Runes creator Casey Rordamor, who previously launched the NFT type Bitcoin Ordinals registration protocol last year.
Ahead of Runas’ debut alongside the Bitcoin halving on April 19, Rordamor tweeted– we jokingly assumed – that he would commit ritualistic suicide if Runas didn’t reach a market value of $1 billion within a month of release.
It looks like the Bitcoin developer got his wish – just barely. Runes broke a total market cap of $1 billion just one day before Rordamor’s self-imposed deadline, according to GeniiData. Since then, the protocol has grown at a remarkable rate, more than doubling its value in a matter of days.
The past few days have brought a particularly pronounced increase in Runes activity, with daily transaction volume on the protocol approaching $20 million on Wednesday and Thursday for the first time since the week of Runes’ launch in April.
The increase comes just like many in the industry canceled Runes like failuregiven the sky-high expectations associated with the protocol’s seductive tone of simplifying how meme coins – a trending asset class – can be created on top of the world’s dominant cryptocurrency.
Prior to Runas’ apparent comeback over the past two weeks, the protocol’s transaction volume plummeted more than 90% following a short-lived blockbuster debut.
Edited by Andrew Hayward
The views and opinions expressed by the author are for informational purposes only and do not constitute financial, investment or other advice.