Rune names are addresses
A Rune name is unique forever. That makes it an identifier, not a brand.
Names on EVM chains
Every Robinhood Chain token has a contract address. It is unique and nobody else can ever have it. What people see, the name, ticker and image, is metadata attached to that address. That is why two tokens can both be called Pepe: you tell them apart by address.
Names on Runes
A Rune's name is unique too: once etched, Bitcoin never accepts it again. So the Rune name is really the Rune's address. Yet Runes have almost no metadata, so the ecosystem has been using that address as the brand:
| Field | What a Rune can store |
|---|---|
| Name | Letters A to Z, unique forever |
| Spacers | Dots for display, like MY•RUNE |
| Symbol | One character |
| Divisibility | Decimal places |
| Description, image, links | Nothing |
That causes problems no EVM token has: first come first served forever, short names unlocked slowly over years, a commit-and-wait race to claim a name (six blocks), and nothing else to show but the name.
How Etchify does it
- By default, Bitcoin picks the name. The Rune is etched without a name, so the protocol assigns a reserved name derived from its block and position, like
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAABDOFJPZEYUVZ. Nobody can squat it, and there is no six-block wait. - Or you choose one. The create form checks it live: Bitcoin must already allow its length (short names unlock a little every block until 2028), nobody may have etched it, and no other Etchify launch may be sealing it. Use • (or a dot) between words, like MY•COOL•RUNE.
- A chosen name is sealed. Right after your coin goes live, Etchify commits the name on Bitcoin inside the etching's inscription, without showing it anywhere, and reveals it six blocks later (Bitcoin's rule for named etchings). If someone else etches the same name in between, Bitcoin assigns your Rune a reserved name instead; your coin keeps its own name and ticker.
- Metadata carries the brand, inscribed on Bitcoin in the parent inscription and stored with the Robinhood Chain token.
- Names can repeat on Robinhood Chain. Two creators can both launch Orbit ($ORBIT); each gets its own Rune name, Rune ID and token address.
| EVM token | Rune, the usual way | Etchify Rune | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unique identifier | Contract address | The name you pick | Reserved name and Rune ID |
| Name and ticker | Metadata | The identifier itself | Metadata |
| Image, description, links | Metadata | None | Inscribed metadata |
| Same name twice | Yes | Never | Yes |
Telling coins apart
Check the token address on Robinhood Chain or the Rune ID on Bitcoin, never just the name. Every coin page shows both.