Comparison with Ordinals Approach
This extension offers an alternative implementation approach for BRC-20 tokens on Bitcoin, presenting trade-offs compared to the original Ordinals-based method.
| Criterion | UTXO + OP_RETURN | Ordinals / Inscriptions |
|---|---|---|
| Data Location | Compact JSON in OP_RETURN output | Data inscribed on a satoshi via witness script |
| State Tracking | Primarily off-chain by Indexer (interpreting OP_RETURN & UTXOs) | Primarily off-chain by Indexer (tracking inscription ownership associated with satoshis) |
| Compatibility | Requires custom indexer and compatible wallets/tools | Leverages existing Ordinals wallets & indexers |
| Transaction Complexity | Medium (standard TX with OP_RETURN) | High (complex taproot/witness scripts for inscription) |
| Multi-recipient TXs | Native support for proportional allocation based on output satoshis as defined by indexer rules | More complex (typically requires multiple separate transfers or complex batched inscription/spend structures) |
| On-chain Footprint | Smaller (~80 bytes in OP_RETURN data payload) | Larger (size of the inscription data + script overhead) |
| Costs (relative) | Medium (driven by transaction size & fees) | Potentially higher (driven by inscription size/cost & fees) |
| Community Support | Unofficial, proposed extension | Large & established (Ordinals ecosystem) |
| Ticker Namespace | Shares global namespace with Ordinals BRC-20 (first valid deploy transaction on-chain wins for any given ticker string, 4+ chars) | Shares global namespace with OP_RETURN extension (first valid deploy transaction on-chain wins for any given ticker string, currently 4 chars) |
| Token "Carrier" | The ownership of a UTXO is interpreted by the indexer as representing a token balance | The specific satoshi itself is marked as carrying the inscription/token data |
| SPV Compatibility (Conceptual) | Indexer state relies on full chain scan, but wallet verification of a specific TX relies on indexer state derived from the chain history. | Validation requires following inscription transfers tied to specific satoshis, relies on indexers. |