Runes

UTXO-native fungible tokens whose balances live in transaction outputs and move by ordinary spending, with etching, minting, and edicts encoded in a single OP_RETURN.

Chain

Bitcoin

Carrier

OP_RETURN runestone (OP_RETURN OP_13)

Ownership model

hybrid

Decimals

asset-defined

Operations

etch, mint, transfer

Also written

rune

Where it came from

Created outside Bitcoin Universe by Casey Rodarmor, 2024.

Activated at block 840,000. Designed to be UTXO-native and to avoid the junk-UTXO problem of inscription-based tokens.

Where the specification lives

The specification and reference documentation for Runes live in bitcoinuniverseio/runes and are published at https://bitcoinuniverseio.github.io/runes/. That site is the authority. This page exists so you can find it and compare it with the rest of the estate.

Bitcoin Universe indexes or implements it in bitcoinuniverseio/index-runes and a Universe-operated ord rune index.

Support in Bitcoin Universe products

Read only

You can see this protocol in the product. No trade action is implemented.

Execution model: Read paths only.

Where it appears

• Core: view, view-collection, view-activity
• Wallet: view, send, receive
• Inscribe: etch, mint, transfer

Implemented

• viewread-only
• view-collectionread-only
• view-activityread-only

Not implemented, and why

list

Rune mutations remain read-only until complete Rune outpoint inventory, cardinal-input safety, builder, signed-transaction validation, broadcast, settlement, and reorg recovery are deployed and proven on Universe infrastructure.

update-listing

Rune mutations remain read-only until complete Rune outpoint inventory, cardinal-input safety, builder, signed-transaction validation, broadcast, settlement, and reorg recovery are deployed and proven on Universe infrastructure.

unlist

Rune mutations remain read-only until complete Rune outpoint inventory, cardinal-input safety, builder, signed-transaction validation, broadcast, settlement, and reorg recovery are deployed and proven on Universe infrastructure.

buy

Rune mutations remain read-only until complete Rune outpoint inventory, cardinal-input safety, builder, signed-transaction validation, broadcast, settlement, and reorg recovery are deployed and proven on Universe infrastructure.

make-offer

Rune mutations remain read-only until complete Rune outpoint inventory, cardinal-input safety, builder, signed-transaction validation, broadcast, settlement, and reorg recovery are deployed and proven on Universe infrastructure.

accept-offer

Rune mutations remain read-only until complete Rune outpoint inventory, cardinal-input safety, builder, signed-transaction validation, broadcast, settlement, and reorg recovery are deployed and proven on Universe infrastructure.

cancel-offer

Rune mutations remain read-only until complete Rune outpoint inventory, cardinal-input safety, builder, signed-transaction validation, broadcast, settlement, and reorg recovery are deployed and proven on Universe infrastructure.

sell

Rune mutations remain read-only until complete Rune outpoint inventory, cardinal-input safety, builder, signed-transaction validation, broadcast, settlement, and reorg recovery are deployed and proven on Universe infrastructure.

settle

Rune mutations remain read-only until complete Rune outpoint inventory, cardinal-input safety, builder, signed-transaction validation, broadcast, settlement, and reorg recovery are deployed and proven on Universe infrastructure.

reconcile

Rune mutations remain read-only until complete Rune outpoint inventory, cardinal-input safety, builder, signed-transaction validation, broadcast, settlement, and reorg recovery are deployed and proven on Universe infrastructure.

Operational behaviour

Indexing

State is read from Universe Ord Rune index and Universe order book. Supporting reads come from Configured mempool/Esplora providers for UTXO and settlement reads.

What must be true before any change is accepted: Rune mutations remain read-only until complete Rune outpoint inventory, cardinal-input safety, builder, signed-transaction validation, broadcast, settlement, and reorg recovery are deployed and proven on Universe infrastructure.

Confirmation

No supported mutation reaches confirmation or settlement.

Reorganisation

Read state follows the authority; no executable order state exists to roll back.

Freshness

No node-tip/indexer-tip comparison or maximum observation age is enforced.

Provenance

Capability facts on this page were generated from backend/packages/ecosystem-contracts/lib/protocols.js in bitcoinuniverseio/core at 15dd03b5986a. Implemented behaviour is not the same as production availability: see how to read our status.