News
How to Get Started with Bitcoin Runes: A Guide to Engraving, Minting, and Trading
If you are active on Crypto Twitter, then you know that the Bitcoin halving It wasn’t the only significant event making waves in space over the past week. Runes Bitcoin were introduced to block 840,000, coinciding with the halving.
Runes, a new one fungible token protocol Of Sort them creator Casey Rodarmor, are best described as “meme coins” on Bitcoin. While the long-term impact of the protocol will manifest itself over time, it is undeniable that the runes have captured significant attention since the beginning.
Although trading in runes has slowed since the initial peak, they may continue to gain traction once many of them find their place on major exchanges and within new markets. But for now, they can be a little difficult to handle. If you want to take action, it becomes crucial to understand the finer details of these processes.
If you’re already familiar with what runes are, this guide will walk you through the essentials for minting, engraving, and trading them. Plus, some other tools and tips designed to give you the information and tools you need for a successful start.
Where can I engrave/mint runes?
Luminex is one of the most reliable and popular sites for both minting and engraving of runes. “Etching” refers to the act of creating a new token on Bitcoin via Runes, while “minting” is what users do when they purchase a token through the initial sale. Even though the fees are known to be higher, Luminex is widely recognized as the best option for ease of use in minting.
Luminex is a leading platform for minting and engraving Bitcoin runes. Image: Decrypt
Once you’ve selected a rune, simply type the amount you’d like to mint in the “Repeat Minting” category.
For minting mode, you have two options: pre-split or auto-split. If you have not already split your unspent transaction results (UTXO) in advance, you should click Auto Split as an option. Automatic splitting will take longer, but you won’t have to split your UTXOs ahead of time.
Why do UTXOs need to split?
Already confused? A useful metaphor that many Bitcoiners use to describe UTXOs is to think of them as housing in an arcade. It doesn’t matter if you have a $100 bill – you can’t play any games in the arcade unless you have a lot of money.
If you have 1 BTC, you need to divide it into smaller UTXOs to mint runes. The size of each UTXO should be based on your expectations of what gas (network fees) will require to get your transactions on time. You’ll want to have many different sized UTXOs based on the likelihood of what you expect.
You can split UTXOs using Luminex herethen click on the speed you want to use. “Fast” is recommended so that your transaction is not blocked or pre-empted by other traders who have paid extra to have their transactions processed first.
Splitting UTXOs is part of the minting process. Image: Decrypt
However, there are many other places to carve or mint runes, including Unisat, XverseAND Magic runes. Rates will vary depending on the platform, but it’s up to you to decide which experience you prefer.
Be sure to read the mempool and change the rates to make sure your mints come in. The mempool is where you can keep track of your transactionsmonitor their progress and even pay to speed up the minting if it goes too slowly.
Where can I research runes and track data?
The best place to track data is GeniiData, a platform that provides comprehensive data and minting capabilities. And even if you don’t mint, engrave or exchange OKXthe platform has a great analytics tab where you can easily view volume, owner count, progress achieved, and activity.
Other useful sources include I order, OrdstuffAND BTC Tool.
Engraving runes
If you don’t find any ticker that captures your interest, or if you prefer to “engrave” or create your own Rune token, go to the Engraving tab on Luminex.
Provide the specifics of the rune you want to create, including the name, divisibility (decimals), symbol (many people use emojis for this), how many tokens to pre-mine for you (if applicable), and limit per mintage. The name must contain at least 13 characters at the time of this writing and up to 28 characters. Over time, shorter names will be unlocked.
Do you have a brilliant idea for a Bitcoin token? Carve your rune. Image: Decrypt
Click on the transaction speed and send it to pay the fees. Then, you can use mempool to track the progress of your new rune. Depending on your speed, it may take an hour or more to complete (6 blocks = 1 hour).
Trade runes
To trade runes on secondary markets, you have many options. you can use Magical Edenwhich just launched its Runes marketplace; Unisat, which was a benchmark for BRC-20 tokens on Bitcoin; OR Cube swap, which claims to have lower fees than all markets. These are just some of the most important options.
On Magic Eden or Unisat all you have to do is select the Rune with the price you want, connect your wallet and then purchase. The most popular Bitcoin wallets for Runes are Unisat, Xverse, Leather and OKX.
To sell, click on the rune you want to sell and set a price for it, then list it. Be careful about updating the price too often, as you may still have an older listing sold. Magic Eden’s Runes marketplace also offers batch selling and listing features, with more features on the way.
A good rule of thumb when buying in the secondary market: prioritize tokens with widespread distribution, as a larger number of holders generally indicates a healthier ecosystem and greater liquidity.
Please note that the project team can reserve or engrave tokens for themselves (pre-mined) before launch. Some traders prefer to stay away from high pre-mining percentages due to the possibility of creators “ruining” the token and dumping it on holders, although it is still early in the Rune space and creators and traders are still setting expectations.