In the winter of the cryptocurrency market, inscription protocols have once again become the focus. The brief craze of the BRC-20 token MASK and the HRC-20 token HYPI on Hyperliquid L1 has sparked widespread discussion in the market.
Is this a revival of the inscription market, or just another fleeting hype? Let’s delve into the story behind this craze.
MASK: Controversy from 'miner conspiracy' to 'inscription promotion.'
The deployment date of the BRC-20 token MASK can be traced back to March 10, 2023. Even at the peak of BRC-20 inscriptions, it failed to complete its minting.
However, recently the popularity of MASK suddenly surged, even pushing the gas fees on the Bitcoin network to 14 Satoshis/byte at one point. This sudden heat has sparked widespread speculation in the community.
One viewpoint suggests that MASK is a 'miner conspiracy scheme,' where miners create the illusion of on-chain prosperity by minting large amounts of MASK, attracting players to FOMO (fear of missing out), thus earning more fees. Another viewpoint claims that MASK has the support of 'mysterious Eastern powers,' representing a new 'inscription promotion scheme.' Regardless of the speculation, MASK's popularity indeed brought a brief influx to the inscription market.
However, this popularity did not last. On February 23, the minting progress of MASK reached 70%, with a unit price of 0.3 USD. But by February 25, the minting progress had only advanced to 88%, while the price dropped to 0.1 USD. The market's enthusiasm quickly faded, and MASK's future seems bleak.
HYPI: The debut of HRC-20, why did it open high and fall low?
Similar to MASK, the first HRC-20 token on Hyperliquid L1, HYPI, also experienced a brief craze. The total amount of HYPI is 21 million tokens, and minting was completed within 5 hours. Before the launch of the Hyperliquid spot market, the off-market trading price once reached as high as 25 USD each, with an estimated market cap of 5.25 million USD, ten times the minting cost.
However, after the launch of the Hyperliquid spot market, HYPI's performance was disappointing. The price of its wrapped asset wHYPI quickly fell to 0.024 USD, with a market cap shrinking to 540,000 USD, below the minting cost. Those who purchased HYPI at high prices of 25 USD each off-market can now only 'cry in the toilet.'
HYPI's poor performance is partly due to the limitations of the HPS Protocol platform's features. Users cannot independently deploy and transfer HRC-20 tokens, which restricts market activity. Although the official attempted to quickly open trading through the wrapped asset wHYPI, market interest in HYPI did not last.
Current status of the inscription market: strong speculative demand, but lack of vitality.
Currently, the overall cryptocurrency market is sluggish. BTC once fell below 87,000 USDT, ETH dropped below 2,500 USDT, and SOL fell below 140 USDT. The vitality of the meme market has also significantly shrunk, with only one of the graduation tokens on pump.fun in the past 24 hours having a market cap exceeding 1 million dollars.
In this context, the inscription market has become an outlet for capital seeking short-term speculative opportunities. Whether it's MASK or HYPI, their brief popularity reflects the market's desire for emerging speculation opportunities. However, such speculative demand is often fleeting, with capital quickly withdrawing when there are no returns in the short term.
The future of inscriptions: revival or silence?
The inscription market has now become a relatively niche field, with discussion levels far below those of other cryptocurrency topics. Although some loyal supporters are still holding on, the revival of the inscription market may require more innovation and market recognition.
Historically, the popularity of the inscription market is closely related to overall market sentiment. During market downturns, inscription protocols may become tools for capital seeking short-term speculation; however, when the market warms up, the popularity of inscriptions may quickly fade.
The craze for inscriptions is ultimately a 'wind'
The brief craze of the inscription market, like a gust of wind, stirred market emotions but quickly dissipated. Whether it's MASK or HYPI, their performances remind us that market enthusiasm is often fleeting, and true value requires time and application scenarios to validate.
What does the future hold for the inscription market? A revival or silence? Perhaps only time will tell. But regardless, the story behind this craze has added a unique color to the cryptocurrency market.
Disclaimer: The content of this article is for reference only and does not constitute any investment advice. Investors should rationally consider cryptocurrency investments based on their own risk tolerance and investment objectives, and not blindly follow trends.
