Meme coin PUPS (PUPS) has experienced a surge, climbing about 50% in the past 24 hours, amid heightened anticipation for the upcoming Runes protocol.
What Happened: The protocol promises to enhance Bitcoin's (CRYPTO: BTC) capabilities by making transactions faster and more cost-effective.
As of now, PUPS boasts a market capitalization of $516 million, positioning it as the third-largest Bitcoin-based token, following Ordi (ORDI) and Sats (SATS).
Trading activity for PUPS topped global sales and volumes across all NFT collections, according to Cryptoslam data, with more than $11 million in volumes.
This places it ahead of other Bitcoin Ordinals collections such as NodeMonkes, which also saw significant interest, accumulating volumes of $1 million.
PUPS, originally offered as an Ordinals token, plans to transition to the Runes protocol subsequent to Bitcoin's halving event.
The token's impressive performance, which includes a 1,000% increase over the past week, underscores its position as what many consider the "first" meme coin on Bitcoin.
This title has been pivotal in driving its virality and interest, although developers have recently contested this claim.
Also Read: Hong Kong Poised To Approve Spot Bitcoin And Spot Ether ETFs: Report
Exploring The Runes Protocol
The Runes protocol, set to be activated after the next Bitcoin halving, aims to advance the existing Ordinals protocol.
This new protocol will utilize the Unspent Transaction Output (UTXO) model to streamline the creation, naming, and transferring of digital commodities solely within the Bitcoin network.
The UTXO model refers to the residual tokens left from cryptocurrency transactions.
Both the Ordinals and Runes initiatives are spearheaded by veteran Bitcoin developer Casey Rodarmor, whose reputation has bolstered user confidence and authenticity perceptions in these projects.
Rodarmor emphasized that the Runes protocol is tailored for "degens and meme coins," highlighting its simplicity, efficiency, and security.
"Runes were built for degens and memecoins, but the protocol is simple, efficient, and secure. It is a legitimate competitor to Taproot Assets and RGB," Rodarmor explained.
What's Next: The introduction of the Runes protocol is a significant topic of discussion, particularly as the digital assets community looks forward to Benzinga's Future of Digital Assets conference on Nov. 19.
This event will delve deeper into such innovations, exploring how they reshape the landscape of digital currencies and blockchain technology.
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