Author: Cookie

Translated by: WuBlockchain

Original article link: https://www.theblockbeats.info/news/53469

During the Ordinals Asia event on May 11, Ordinals protocol founder Casey Rodarmor took the stage alone at the end for about 15 minutes. In this cheerful speech, all Ordinals enthusiasts got up close and personal with Casey himself and his thoughts.

TL;DR

●  Bitcoin is the strongest cryptocurrency, and many other chains or protocols beyond Bitcoin are wealthy but fragile.

●  When developing on Bitcoin, developers should adapt their ideas to Bitcoin, rather than expecting the chain to adapt to their ideas like on other chains.

●  Ordinals, inscriptions, and runes have been hugely successful because they are "simple". Protocols like Taproot Assets and RGB that have been under construction for years are good, but too complex.

●  Don't view the Ordinals, inscriptions, and runes ecosystem as a high-tech ecosystem. Being honest and inclusive, and creating a more interesting, more decentralized ecosystem for socializing, gambling, and entertainment for degens is equally meaningful.

●  Continuously building a social, gambling, and entertainment ecosystem, the ultimate goal is to attract more people to recognize Bitcoin, use Bitcoin, and think about the value and meaning of Bitcoin.

●  Ordinals has always been everyone's, and future updates will be driven by all builders together. You can see all the ideas and discussions on GitHub, working openly and transparently without autocracy.

Hell Money

"Hell Money" is actually the name of a Podcast that I started with Erin about 2 years ago.

"Hell Money" is a quirky name, and I think most people don't know what it means. In fact, "Hell Money" is a literal translation of the Chinese term "冥钞" (ming chao). "Hell Money" is a type of paper money that looks like this:

If you are Chinese, I think you know what this is. If you're not, but you live in a Chinese community, you might remember seeing a small altar for ancestor worship in a corner of a Chinese restaurant when you were a child, adorned with oranges and a few burning incense sticks. Another way Chinese people worship ancestors is with "Hell Money," which is actually currency used by ancestors who have passed away.

The first time I saw "Hell Money" was during my childhood, and if I remember correctly, it was in Chinatown in San Francisco. It seemed like a mysterious and exotic cultural artifact from another world. There's a dual meaning behind why we named our Podcast "Hell Money."

First, fiat money is "Hell Money." Fiat money is the "currency of the devil" and is issued in such massive quantities that it might as well be burnt like "Hell Money." The other meaning is that Bitcoin is also "Hell Money," but unlike fiat currency, Bitcoin is so robust and powerful that it captivates everyone from the living to the deceased and even the divine.

Resistance and the long game

Why build on Bitcoin? It's about resistance, a long-term struggle. When I first got into Bitcoin in 2013, I thought Bitcoin would be terminated shortly because at any time the authorities could intervene and try to destroy it, as had happened before with Liberty Reverse and e-gold. Over the past 11 years, the government resistance Bitcoin has faced has been surprisingly minimal, even from major powers like China and the USA, none of which have launched a real attack against Bitcoin or the broader cryptocurrency space.

However, we must always remember that the threat from governments to Bitcoin exists. Although the situation has been relatively good so far, with governments just "mildly displeased," no one can guarantee what the future will bring. This is why I build on Bitcoin—if governments really wanted to attack cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin is the only technology and platform capable of mounting an effective defense.

Many other chains or protocols beyond Bitcoin, they have a lot of money, but that's their only advantage. Besides that, they are complex and highly centralized, very fragile. When the potentially worsening future actually arrives, they will be destroyed or collapse, or worse, become tools for regulation and censorship.

Some suggestions for Bitcoin builders

Keep it simple

I have some advice for builders in Bitcoin and beyond, and the most important is "keep it simple." Not long ago, I had a conversation with a friend I've known for perhaps 20 years about what the best developers we know have in common, and the conclusion is that these developers are able to keep their creations simple and practical. Complexity always drives people crazy and makes things difficult. In Ordinals and Runes, despite some unavoidable complexity, we also try to keep them as simple as possible.

Adapt ideas to Bitcoin, not the other way around

There's a challenge that might make building on Bitcoin quite difficult. When you build on other chains outside of Bitcoin, you may have a top-level idea about what you want to do, and then those chains passively match your ideas. But on Bitcoin, you need to reverse this approach—your ideas need to adapt to Bitcoin. It's more appropriate to have a goal to realize your idea, then remind yourself to align the design with Bitcoin. Bitcoin won't adapt to you like other chains; you need to adapt to Bitcoin.

The stupidest thing could possibly work

Why have Ordinals, inscriptions, and runes been so successful? I believe the answer is that they are the simplest feasible ideas. Before I launched inscriptions, there were some projects that had made significant headway, two of which were Taproot Assets and RGB. I have great respect for these projects; they are very smart and have been built over a long time, and I once thought they might beat Ordinals. But they made everything too complicated and to this day haven't achieved widespread adoption. Taproot Assets announced some things before Runes officially launched, but months went by with little progress, and then a few months later, the "silly" Runes came and gained huge adoption and enthusiasm. The biggest lesson for me is that "silly" things can succeed, while complex things are hard to accomplish.

It's not tech

Don't view the Ordinals, inscriptions, and runes ecosystem as a tech ecosystem. Indeed, if we regard it as a future finance, like becoming a bank for friends in Africa, or a revolutionary financial market, it would be very tempting, and I would be very happy if one day these grand narratives became reality. But the current reality is that Ordinals, inscriptions, and runes are technologies that are very effective for social, gambling, and entertainment purposes. If you view Ordinals from this angle, you can be more honest with yourself and the audience you serve, and you won't feel like you are compromising your idealism or principles for success. If this is a casino more transparent, more decentralized, and with lower house advantage than Las Vegas, where all the Degens can be happy, I think that's also very good.

I guess the real world capital of gambling is Macau? So, could there be something like inscriptions and runes appearing in Macau? I don't know haha.

For each of us, viewing the construction on Ordinals, inscriptions, and runes from the perspective of creating social, gambling, and entertainment products is honest and practical. We don't need to disguise anything; let your users experience the fairest and most fun products. It's like a "space casino," like going to the future or a space station through a portal in a sci-fi novel, but much more interesting than in sci-fi—decentralized, omnipresent, and more in our hearts.

All in your hands

Everything is yours.

As a developer of this protocol, all I can do is put forward my ideas, let everyone build together, and not act unilaterally. Future updates about Ordinals, inscriptions, and runes, you can see our thoughts and discussions on GitHub. When I have some new ideas, I'll post an issue on GitHub, and we work openly and transparently; major future updates will be driven by all of you—builders of Ordinals, whether present today or not. So, GitHub is the Alpha.

No currency is better suited than Bitcoin for this "space casino" of Ordinals, inscriptions, and runes. And my ongoing goal of building this "space casino" is still to let more people learn about Bitcoin, use Bitcoin, and consider the value and meaning of Bitcoin, to embrace this most solid currency that can continuously resist the forces of reality.

I look forward to seeing your ongoing innovation and construction. Thank you all.

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