Why we built Etchify
Bitcoin finally got its own memecoins in 2024. It never got a way to trade them at memecoin speed.
Runes: Bitcoin's own tokens
The Runes protocol went live at block 840,000, the April 2024 halving. It lets anyone create fungible tokens that live in ordinary Bitcoin outputs: no sidechain, no wrapper, secured by Bitcoin itself. Everyone saw the obvious use straight away: memecoins on Bitcoin.
The speed problem
Memecoin markets reprice in seconds. Bitcoin cannot:
| Bitcoin | Robinhood Chain | |
|---|---|---|
| New block | About every 10 minutes | Sub-second |
| Trade confirmed | 10 minutes for one confirmation, about an hour for six | About a second |
| Fees in a rush | Spike exactly when everyone wants to trade | Fractions of a cent |
| How you trade | List on a marketplace and wait for a buyer | A pool that always quotes a price |
By the time a Bitcoin trade confirms, a memecoin market has already moved on. And because there is no pool to sell into, selling a Rune means listing it and hoping someone takes it.
Issued on Bitcoin, traded on Robinhood Chain
Etchify launches every coin on both chains at once:
- On Bitcoin the coin is a real Rune. Its full supply is etched into Etchify custody, with the logo and details inscribed in the same transaction.
- On Robinhood Chain the same coin is an ERC-20 that trades in its own Uniswap v4 pool, with burned liquidity, in about a second.
- The bridge links the two 1:1. Every token on Robinhood Chain is backed by a Rune held on Bitcoin.
Names are addresses
A Rune's name is unique forever, which makes it an identifier, like a contract address, not a brand. Etchify lets Bitcoin assign every Rune a reserved name and carries the real name, ticker and image in metadata, the way every EVM token already works. See Rune names are addresses.