A BRC-20 token is a fungible token standard designed specifically for the Bitcoin blockchain. It is an experimental token standard that enables the minting and transferring of fungible tokens via the Ordinals protocol on the Bitcoin blockchain.
BRC-20 tokens utilize Ordinals inscriptions of JSON (JavaScript Object Notation) data to deploy token contracts, mint, and transfer tokens. Unlike other token standards that rely on intricate smart contracts, BRC-20 tokens sidestep smart contracts, which can sometimes be complex to configure, making it simpler and easier to use. It allows programmers to create and send fungible tokens via the Ordinals protocol.
Currently, the BRC-20 token standard allows creating a BRC-20 token with the deploy function, minting an amount of BRC-20 tokens with the mint function, and transferring an amount of BRC-20 tokens via the transfer function. However, the process of deploying, minting, and transferring BRC-20 tokens isn’t user-friendly, and there are limited tooling and supporting services.
The BRC-20 token standard is new and experimental, and it is prudent to recognize that, like any other technological solution, it also has some inherent limitations. The future of BRC-20 is still uncertain, and BRC-20 tokens have little utility at present.