Runes | A Degenerate Casino on the Bitcoin Blockchain Creative

Runes and Ordinals ‘Artist’ Creator, Casey Rodarmor has just invented two of the most dramatically impactful protocols in the blockchain industry's history and embraces cryptocurrency's speculative and gambling nature.

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In this installment of "The Protocol," hosts Brad Keoun, the founding editor of The Protocol Newsletter, and tech journalists Sam Kessler and Margaux Nijkerk,

are joined by Casey Rodarmor to discuss the launch of Runes, a protocol on the Bitcoin blockchain that allows users to create and trade meme coins. Casey expresses skepticism about the usability of layer two solutions and the potential for stablecoins on Bitcoin.

Takeaways |

Casey Rotemar believes that many projects in the crypto space make false claims about utility and are ultimately worthless.
Runes embraces the speculative and gambling nature of cryptocurrency, positioning itself as a degenerate casino.
Casey discusses the potential regulatory concerns and the ability of Bitcoin to withstand a nation-state attack. Bugs were found before the launch of Runes and Ordinals, including a divide-by-zero bug and issues with high-fee transactions and the mint logic.
Getting Bitcoin soft forks adopted can be challenging, but there are new BIP editors who are helping to merge proposals and improve the process.
Casey is skeptical about the usability of layer two solutions and believes that developing on top of Bitcoin without modifying the base layer is often the best approach.
There is potential for stablecoins on Bitcoin, but Casey is unsure if there is enough market demand for them.
The names of some of the runes created by the community can be offensive, but there are also creative and funny names emerging.
Casey is interested in developing a file-sharing protocol unrelated to blockchain or cryptocurrency, with a focus on improving the user experience.

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The Protocol has been produced and edited by senior producer Michele Musso and our executive producer is Jared Schwartz. Our theme song is “Take Me Back” by Strength To Last.

HOSTS

Margaux Nijkerk

Margaux Nijkerk reports on the Ethereum protocol and L2s. A graduate of Johns Hopkins and Emory universities, she has a masters in International Affairs & Economics. She holds BTC and ETH above CoinDesk's disclosure threshold of $1,000.

Sam Kessler

Sam is CoinDesk's deputy managing editor for tech and protocols. His reporting is focused on decentralized technology, infrastructure and governance. Sam holds a computer science degree from Harvard University, where he led the Harvard Political Review. He has a background in the technology industry and owns some ETH and BTC. Sam was part of the team that won a 2023 Gerald Loeb Award for CoinDesk's coverage of Sam Bankman-Fried and the FTX collapse.

Bradley Keoun

Bradley Keoun is CoinDesk's managing editor of tech & protocols, where he oversees a team of reporters covering blockchain technology, and previously ran the global crypto markets team. A two-time Loeb Awards finalist, he previously was chief global finance and economic correspondent for TheStreet and before that worked as an editor and reporter for Bloomberg News in New York and Mexico City, reporting on Wall Street, emerging markets and the energy industry. He started out as a police-beat reporter for the Gainesville Sun in Florida and later worked as a general-assignment reporter for the Chicago Tribune. Originally from Fort Wayne, Indiana, he double-majored in electrical engineering and classical studies as an undergraduate at Duke University and later obtained a master's in journalism from the University of Florida. He is currently based in Austin, Texas, and in his spare time plays guitar, sings in a choir and hikes in the Texas Hill Country. He owns less than $1,000 each of several cryptocurrencies.

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