Inscriptions based on the Avalanche blockchain have exploded in popularity over the past few months, riding on the coattails of the successful Bitcoin Ordinals (BRC-20) movement.
Data reveals that over 100 million Avalanche inscriptions, also known as ASC-20 tokens, have been minted since the standard was introduced in June 2023.
Keypoints
- Over 100 million Avalanche inscriptions (ASC-20 tokens) have been minted since June 2023, sparking significant investor interest similar to Bitcoin Ordinals (BRC-20 tokens)
- The Avascriptions (AVAV) token hosted a Twitter Space with over 585,000 listeners, aiming to follow a similar developmental path as BRC-20 assets
- ASC-20 allows creating customized tokens with lower fees than BRC-20 due to using JSON format, and has a mechanism to return unresolved funds to users
- Trading activity for ASC-20 tokens has surged 2,000% within a week of launch, demonstrating enthusiastic market response
- Fraudulent imitation tokens like AVAV1 have attempted to take advantage of the hype, but were exposed and delisted
The flagship Avalanche inscription token, Avascriptions (ticker: AVAV) recently hosted a Chinese Twitter Space discussion that drew over half a million listeners. The session focused on AVAV’s roadmap and developmental parallels with BRC-20 assets like Bitcoin Ordinals. “We will closely follow the footstep and business model of BRC-20 projects,” said AVAV COO Ori. He added that innovation in transaction formats and fee structures has enabled ASC-20 tokens to carve out their own niche.
Unlike BRC-20, which uses OP_RETURN outputs to embed metadata, ASC-20 tokens rely on a JSON-formatted inscription that reduces fees and allows more data to be included per transaction. The standard also provides a safety net for users by returning unspent funds if miners are unable to process transactions. This combination of lower costs and built-in security has quickly endeared ASC-20 tokens to an investor base hungry for the next big thing after Bitcoin Ordinals.
Market response has been extremely enthusiastic, with exchange Gate.io reporting a 2,000% surge in ASC-20 trading volumes within the first week of launch. The total value locked in Avalanche inscriptions now stands at over $300 million. Among the most popular tokens are AVAV itself, followed by DINO and SNOW.
With meteoric rise, however, comes increased potential for abuse. Last month, the AVAV team exposed an imitation token called AVAV1 that was pending listing on exchange MEXC. Calling it a “fraudulent phishing project”, AVAV developers opposed the listing and urged MEXC to address this seriously. The exchange apologized for their lapse in review procedures and promptly canceled the AVAV1 listing.
For now, investor interest continues to build in legitimate ASC-20 tokens like AVAV, which rallied 50% following a recent listing on Bitget exchange. But the episode highlights why due diligence is necessary, as opportunists look to piggyback off the latest hyped technology. By leveraging Avalanche’s scalability and security combined with inscription innovation, ASC-20 may have room to run – as long as investor mania is kept in check.
