Rune names are addresses
We think Runes have been used the wrong way. A Rune name is not a brand: it is an address, exactly like a token's contract address (CA).
How it works on BNB Chain
Every BNB Chain token has a contract address (CA). It is created with the token, it is unique, and no other token can ever have the same CA.
The CA is not what people see. The name, ticker, image and links come from the token's metadata. That is why two tokens can both be called Pepe with the ticker $PEPE: you tell them apart by their CA, never by their name.
How Runes have been used
A Rune's name is unique too. Once a name is etched, Bitcoin will never accept it again, from anyone, ever. In other words, the Rune name is the Rune's identifier: its CA.
But the Runes world has been using that identifier as the brand, because Runes have almost no metadata:
| Field | What a Rune can store |
|---|---|
| Name | Letters A to Z, unique forever |
| Spacers | Dots between the letters, for display, like MY•RUNE•NAME |
| Symbol | One character |
| Divisibility | Number of decimal places |
| Description, image, links | Nothing |
Treating the identifier as the brand causes problems that no BNB Chain token has:
- First come, first served, forever. Whoever etches PEPE first owns that name for good. Everyone after has to pick a variation.
- Names are rationed. Bitcoin unlocks shorter names a little at a time, roughly every four months, so the best names go to whoever is earliest, not to the best project.
- Picking a name is a race. An etching with a chosen name has to be committed six blocks in advance to stop front-running, so a launch waits about an hour before the Rune even exists.
- Nothing else to show. With no metadata, the name is all a wallet can display, so names get stretched to carry the whole brand.
How BRUNE does it
BRUNE treats the Rune name as what it really is: an address.
- Bitcoin picks the name. By default every BRUNE Rune gets a reserved name, assigned by the Runes protocol from the block and transaction it was etched in, like
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACHXEPFISW. Nobody chooses it, nobody can squat it, and it never collides with another Rune. There is no name race and no six-block wait. - Metadata carries the brand. The coin's name, ticker, description, image and links are its metadata: inscribed on Bitcoin in the Rune's parent inscription, together with the BNB Chain token address, and stored in the token's metadata on IPFS. Anyone can read it on chain.
- Names can repeat. Two creators can both launch Orbit ($ORBIT). Each gets its own Rune name, Rune ID and BNB Chain CA.
| BNB Chain token | Rune, the usual way | BRUNE Rune | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unique identifier | CA (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 |
| Race for a name | No | Yes | No |
Telling coins apart
Check the CA on BNB Chain or the Rune ID on Bitcoin, never just the name. Every BRUNE coin page shows the CA with a copy button, the Rune name and the Rune ID.
What wallets show today
Most Bitcoin wallets and marketplaces still show a Rune by its name, so a BRUNE Rune appears under its long reserved name. Its real name, ticker and image are already inscribed on Bitcoin, ready for any wallet to read. Read Bringing Runes back for why we expect that to change.