Original | Odaily Planet Daily (@OdailyChina)
Author: Golem (@web3_golem)
1. Bitcoin is the best carrier for building future Web3 applications.
Many past opinions believed that due to low network efficiency, lack of smart contract support, and inability to build complex applications, the Bitcoin network would not have a thriving ecosystem like Ethereum or Solana, and Bitcoin would continue to be viewed as 'digital gold' and a global store of value. However, the birth and development of the Ordinals protocol in December 2022 made the market realize the potential of the Bitcoin ecosystem for the first time and discover the unique advantages of building a Web3 ecosystem on the Bitcoin network, distinct from Ethereum or Solana.
For example, the Bitcoin network has the highest consensus, decentralization, and security globally; the UTXO architecture, although more complex compared to traditional account systems, offers better fund security and is naturally suitable for high concurrency trading; on-chain data storage is simpler and more elegant compared to other blockchains.
If the birth of the Ordinals protocol is viewed as the starting point of the Bitcoin ecosystem, then the Bitcoin ecosystem has now celebrated its 2nd anniversary. Overall, the Bitcoin ecosystem has begun to flourish, with community-backed asset issuance protocols like Ordinals, Runes, and Atomicals, Bitcoin L2s like Merlin and Fractal adding more playability and ecological applications to mainnet assets, and the Bitcoin staking narrative led by Babylon gaining increasing recognition.
But essentially, the Bitcoin ecosystem still remains in the asset issuance stage, and there has been no substantial progress in the real construction of Web3 applications.
For an ecosystem to thrive, it cannot remain at the stage of 'creating assets' and 'opening casinos'; the long-term narrative must focus on utility-driven Web3 applications that create value for users rather than just PVP.
So, is it currently possible to build utility-driven Web3 applications such as on-chain Twitter, on-chain Facebook, on-chain Amazon, and on-chain TikTok within the Bitcoin ecosystem? This is precisely the issue that the recently popular Bitcoin ecological new protocol MetaID seeks to address.
If Ordinals changed the public’s perception that the Bitcoin network could not develop an ecosystem, then the goal of the MetaID protocol is to truly build the Web3 world on Bitcoin.
How does MetaID build the Bitcoin Web3 ecosystem?
The first version of the MetaID protocol was released in April 2020 and has now developed to version 2. Before the release of version 2, MetaID had already accumulated over 170,000 users and completed over 21 million transactions.
In simple terms, MetaID is the first data unification protocol specifically designed for building Web3 applications on Bitcoin. Through the MetaID protocol, developers can build Web3 applications including decentralized social applications, games, e-commerce, etc. on the Bitcoin network. The protocol also supports issuing fungible assets MRC-20 and non-fungible assets MRC-721 tightly coupled with data value on Bitcoin.
As mentioned earlier, the UTXO architecture of Bitcoin and its ability to store data on-chain make it a perfect foundation for building Web3 applications. The vision of MetaID is to establish a vast Web3 ecosystem on Bitcoin where user data is stored on-chain, can be freely traded among data, and can interconnect across applications. For example, in social applications, developers can use MetaID to build decentralized Twitter/X and Telegram on Bitcoin, allowing users to seamlessly interact between these applications, such as sending private messages directly from X accounts to Telegram users.
Realizing data interconnection
Unlike other Bitcoin protocols, MetaID abstracts decentralized on-chain data into a tree structure and uses 'users' as a classification method. Each MetaID is a separate category, and ultimately all data is stored on-chain in the form of a 'MetaID tree.'
Each node and leaf on the 'MetaID tree' is called a PIN, representing the smallest data unit in the MetaID protocol. Users' MetaID identity, posting or liking posts, deploying and minting assets, and interacting with third-party protocols are all represented by a PIN. Essentially, a PIN is similar to Ordinals' inscriptions, marking specific satoshis on Bitcoin, enabling the information above to be tokenized as NFTs that are transferable and tradable.
However, the biggest difference between PINs and inscriptions is that the format of PINs is designed for building Web3, rather than merely becoming NFT or FT assets. PINs have concepts of path, declarative modification and deletion operators, encryption on-chain operators, etc., all of which are capabilities needed for building Web3 applications, which inscriptions do not possess.
MetaID founder Sunny Fung vividly explains the difference between the two, stating that a PIN is the brick of Web3 applications, while inscriptions are more suitable for carrying assets.
Each PIN is like a Lego block; different PINs can be combined to create various Web3 applications. Through this combination, not only can the workload of Web3 application development be greatly reduced, but the data generated by each application will also be linked to the user's MetaID tree in the form of PINs, meaning other applications can combine different protocols' PINs through the MetaID tree, achieving data interconnectivity.
Realizing Bitcoin network expansion
Congestion and high fees on the Bitcoin mainnet have always been significant factors hindering the development of the Bitcoin mainnet ecosystem. As a result, many teams have turned to develop Bitcoin L2 or sidechains to meet more application needs. The MetaID protocol takes a different path, believing that due to the statelessness and high concurrency of the UTXO architecture, Bitcoin sidechains/L2 based on UTXO architecture should be viewed as an extension of the Bitcoin network, forming a large, unified UTXO network together with the Bitcoin network.
Therefore, the MetaID protocol supports cross-chain from a design perspective, allowing users to freely choose which UTXO public chain to store their MetaID data. They can save costs by storing general Web3 application data on lower-cost Bitcoin sidechains while storing important MetaID assets/data on the Bitcoin mainnet.
To achieve the above vision, MetaID proposed a Bitcoin extension solution—MetaBitcoin Network. The MetaBitcoin Network is a dynamic and infinitely extensible Bitcoin isomorphic network centered around the BTC chain, with advantages in being entirely based on Bitcoin's technological architecture and consensus mechanism, capable of linking mainstream UTXO chains without the need to invent new technologies or develop new public chains, while fully utilizing the infrastructure of other sidechains to realize more complex financial and Web3 use cases.
Any permissionless blockchain that is isomorphic to Bitcoin (using UTXO architecture and supporting traditional addresses) and employs the SHA 256 mining algorithm can connect to the MetaBitcoin Network. Currently, blockchains such as MVC, Fractal, BCH, and BSV meet the criteria.
Comparison of MetaBitcoin with other Bitcoin expansion solutions
At the same time, MetaID founder Sunny Fung stated that MetaID will not independently create an L2 to split the consensus of the Bitcoin ecosystem. The MetaID protocol + MetaBitcoin Network solution can establish a permissionless, open Web3 world on Bitcoin that can accommodate massive daily user usage. Therefore, categorically, MetaID can be considered an L0 protocol within the Bitcoin ecosystem.
3. Introduction to ecological projects of the protocol
The MetaID v2 version launched in May this year, and the protocol's ecosystem has begun to take shape. Next, we will briefly introduce the main ecological projects of MetaID to help readers understand the development status of the MetaID protocol.
MetaSo
MetaSo is a decentralized social media network based on the MetaID protocol. Developers can deploy new Web3 social applications within 20 minutes by simply editing their configuration files. The data of MetaSo is entirely derived from on-chain data of Bitcoin and its sidechains, with each node storing and indexing relevant data locally. MetaSo nodes interconnect through P2P, relying on no third party, making it the first truly decentralized social media network based on Bitcoin.
Moreover, data across different MetaSo applications is interconnected and interoperable, allowing users to log into all supported MetaSo social applications using their accounts or mnemonic phrases. This means that users’ data across different social platforms can circulate and be shared, thereby enhancing data availability and connectivity.
MetaSo is initiated and operated by a DAO, and by operating MetaSo nodes, users can earn MetaSo token incentives. According to official data, MetaSo is still in its early stages, with a total of 1,832 users and a cumulative transaction count of 10,810.
MetaLet
MetaLet is the main wallet supporting the MetaID protocol, and currently, applications logging into the MetaID protocol and managing MRC-20 assets and PINs require the use of this wallet.
BITBuzz
BITBuzz is a Web3 decentralized social application built on the MetaID protocol, where users can post, comment, and like on the platform. Because it is completely on-chain, users must pay a fee for posting, commenting, and liking. Currently, BITBuzz supports the Bitcoin mainnet and the Bitcoin sidechain MVC.
Show.now
show.now is a Web3 decentralized social application deployed on MetaSo, similar in function to BITBuzz, but with a different UI. In theory, anyone can build customized Web3 decentralized social applications through MetaSo and interconnect with data from other applications.
metaID.market
metaID.market is a trading and minting platform for MetaID protocol MRC 20 and other assets. MRC-20 features a unique ID Coins model, issued through Fair Launch, similar to Pump, but different in that it only allows followers of the token deployer to trade that token. The platform also supports trading and deploying regular MRC-20 tokens and MetaID protocol's PINs. Currently, the largest MRC 20 token by market cap is METAID, valued at 6 BTC.
Orders.Exchange
Orders.Exchange is an order-book DEX on Bitcoin, currently supporting trades for ID Coins launched from metaID.market.
4. Conclusion
From the above introduction and ecosystem, MetaID seems more like a decentralized social protocol or DID protocol similar to Farcaster or nostr on the Bitcoin ecosystem, but it aims to achieve far more than that.
Sunny Fung, founder of the MetaID protocol, explained the differences between them: 'The application range of MetaID is broader; MetaID can do everything that the Farcaster protocol and nostr protocol can do, but the reverse is not true. However, more importantly, MetaID aims to realize Web3 on Bitcoin, while they do not.'
The MetaID protocol itself does not have a project token, nor does it have airdrops or incentive activities. Therefore, it initially chose the social domain as an entry point into the ecosystem, leading to the market's impression that MetaID is a decentralized social or DID protocol.
Sunny explained during an interview with Odaily that 'using social as an entry point can quickly gain a large user base. For protocols like MetaID, user scale is the most important, so we initially chose to collaborate with the MetaSo team to promote this project that best represents the characteristics of MetaID.'
Currently, the price of Bitcoin has surpassed $100,000, with a total market cap of about $2.01 trillion, but the total market cap of the Bitcoin ecosystem is still less than $10 billion, accounting for less than 1%, which perhaps proves that the Bitcoin ecosystem is still in its early stages.
The future is still uncertain, but MetaID may become the dark horse.
