Is it silent?

When the RGB++ protocol was first launched, the market was very popular, and many people were discussing the impact of such a new technical protocol. The first use case of the “isomorphic binding” technology proposed by RGB++ combined the BTC network and CKB The network has also triggered people’s new understanding of the CKB network and new expectations for its future development. But after a while, as the heat slowly dissipated, it seemed to fall silent.

But is it really silent?

Focus your attention

“Attention economy” is a term that is often mentioned nowadays, and projects on the market are trying to capture users’ attention. However, attention is a “short-lived process” in most cases and is easily distracted and transferred. This is the current situation of the market, so most of us follow the trend and constantly pursue the “hot spots in the market”. A few reap gains, but most of us reap losses and anxiety.

I have always believed that if you want to pay attention to a certain track/project, you need to track it and adjust your cognition over a long period of time. This cycle does not need to be so exaggerated in terms of years, but at least it is measured in terms of months. Because technology development, development, and application take time, it will not appear out of thin air, or even accelerate because of the number of people. I research every track/project I like and adhere to this concept, so you will see that it has been almost a year since I preached RGB, but I still maintain updates on protocols, ecological projects, etc., and the same is true for RGB++.

The value that sustained attention can produce is often greater, because it is based on cognition after a deeper understanding and is a rational cognition. The principle is very similar to “focus creates power”, even in an industry like crypto that changes very quickly and is greatly affected by emotions.

Therefore, you might as well focus your attention and take a look at the recent developments of CKB and RGB++.

In development, the ecosystem map is improving

On April 24, I once shared the ecological map under NERVOS. A friend commented: “It seems like a lot, but in fact the effective part is the lower left corner.”

Yes, at that time, some of the parts in the lower left corner were even in the concept stage, some had not yet been developed, and some had just been developed and were not mature. On the one hand, there were historical problems left over from the previous cycle that needed to be remedied; on the other hand, the new protocol had just been established and all industries were waiting to be developed.

Now, 2 and a half months have passed, let’s take a look at what has changed:

RGB++

wallet

• Joyid wallet has made many upgrades based on user needs, supporting mnemonic phrases, private key export and more networks.
• Gate Wallet announces support for RGB++ assets
• Unofficial support tools for Unisat and OKX wallets completed
• Unisat is likely to support RGB++ assets soon (clues can be seen from the latest Fractal)

product

• LeapX builds a layer of asset cross-chain based on RGB++
• Nervape conducts two rounds of accessory airdrops
• World3 releases assets based on RGB++
• Cellula issues assets based on RGB++
• .BIT is transformed into RGB++ assets to create a universal domain name system

platform

• Huehub platform, Omiga platform, Joyid market platform, Dobby platform are gradually maturing
• UTXOswap intent-based trading platform is coming soon
• Metaforo’s voting system based on first- and second-layer RGB++ assets is completed

Infrastructure

• UTXO STACK is progressing rapidly and will soon become an important part of solving the future expansion of CKB and RGB++.
• “Application of isomorphic binding technology” based on other chains is under development

CKB

• Based on the characteristics of CELL, it supports more networks and shifts to the category of abstract accounts based on POW.
• Integrated into the Nostr protocol, the related binding technology has been completed
• Connected with CCBTC to introduce BTC assets into the ecosystem
• Mobit was developed to manage CKB and RGB++ assets in different wallets
• Opened CCC, a management tool for developers
• CKB-based Lightning Network is about to start testing

Of course, this is only the part I know. As for what is actually being done, there may be more… In fact, I am quite amazed at the speed and progress, but it has not received enough attention in this “market full of various information.”

After sorting out this information, I tried to sort out the development path of CKB and RGB++ from the context.

Characteristics are key

To achieve the goal, it must be based on its precise positioning. What is the positioning of CKB and RGB++? To answer this question, we need to go back to the understanding of “CKB and RGB++” to find their characteristics.

In the market, every project/technology has its own characteristics. For example, BTC’s characteristic is “the most decentralized and the most secure”, ETH’s characteristic is “smart contract”, RGB’s characteristic is “client”, and Lightning Network’s characteristic is “native and payment”. So what are the characteristics of CKB and RGB++?

RGB++: Binding

Many people will emphasize that RGB++ is a BTC layer 1 asset protocol, but in my opinion this is not the main feature. There are many layer 1 assets, such as brc20, runes, atomics… We are not lacking in layer 1 asset protocols. What we lack is the truly innovative part of the technology.

Yes, it is “isomorphic binding”!

In the entire technology of RGB++, “isomorphic binding” is the essence. The “description of L1/L2 duality” we see on the market all comes from this technology. It provides a new way for assets to cross chains, allowing assets to flow freely on isomorphic chains in a native way. It’s like building bridges between a group of isolated islands. In the past, you could only entrust people with small boats to carry supplies to and from the bridge. Now you can carry the supplies across the bridge yourself.

What is the new technology narrative? It may be a new concept/form/implementation process, but it must be something new that has not been on the market before or has not been tried before. Isomorphic binding is such a technology in this round.

CKB：CELL

In fact, it is difficult to define the characteristics of CKB. It has many labels. Is it a Chinese celebrity public chain? POW? Enhance UTXO? …Many labels contain some features of CKB. But if I had to choose, I would prefer features that allow it to go far:

CELL

That’s right, it’s a brand new accounting model created by CKB: the CELL model. This is an enhanced UTXO model that combines the programmability of the account model with the scalability and flexibility of the UTXO model. Its level of abstraction puts fewer restrictions on contract developers of systems and applications. Combined with CKB-VM, it can develop many functions that cannot be achieved on the traditional UTXO model.

However, in terms of scalability, EVM and others have already been implemented to a great extent. Is this something very new? ! For the account model, it is indeed sparse and common, but for the UTXO model, it is very difficult. If you pay a little attention to the development of the BTC ecosystem in this round, you will know that in order to achieve scalability, even a small aspect of scalability is difficult to do based on UTXO. Thanks to the characteristics of CKB’s early framework, it is able to have this kind of scalability in the UTXO chain.

Actually, I want to add POW in front of it, but most people don’t have any feeling about the consensus mechanism of the chain. It’s just verification on the chain. However, as you study it in depth, you will find that POW is the “bottom line of value” and the “support of decentralization”. Of course, the market may not care about these. What’s the use of a public chain controlled by a dozen nodes? It’s fine as long as it can be played!

Two lines

Now, we can roughly sort out the current two lines, two related, parallel but not completely subordinate lines.

RGB++ lines: assets flow extensions

For isomorphic binding to play its role, assets are the foundation, so different ecological projects need to be promoted to issue RGB++ assets

For assets to flow, transactions and other behaviors are required, so various platforms on the first and second floors are necessary. The implementation on the second floor needs to rely on the design of CELL. This is where lines converge.

It can’t just be played within a small circle, it needs to be extended to more categories, so it needs to be associated with more layers of assets and more chains. This is also the reason why CCBTC, leapX, Fractal, etc. were introduced; extension requires theoretical design and practice Development, these all require money, this is the purpose of the establishment of the “Ecological Fund”

CKB’s line: infrastructure construction and new scenarios

In order for various assets to be played within the CKB network, infrastructure needs to be completed, whether it is the product side or the development tool side

To solve the CKB occupation problem, UTXO STACK is needed; to solve the payment Tps problem, CKB’s Lightning Network is needed, and new functions must be developed according to actual needs.

To give full play to the expansion features of CELL, you need to find scenarios suitable for expansion. The AA wallet based on CELL script can solve payment scenarios, combine with nostr to create functional social scenarios, and combine with xudt to create assets that meet the game scenarios…

Is Nostr a key?

From the user’s perspective, what we need are interesting products, and it is useless to talk about technology alone. I seem to see a combination product form in the recent update.

Nostr is a decentralized, P2P communication protocol. It is simple and beautiful, and has a high DIY attribute. However, the current products based on Nostr have not received widespread attention, and social protocols such as Prime are only some early geeks. In use, its associated BTC Lightning Network payment method is also relatively complex.

What if we combine Nostr with CKB network/RGB++ assets?

• The Nostr account can be used as a CKB AA wallet, and transfer payments can be made directly to other accounts through the Nostr account, and the assets paid can be BTC assets, RGB++ assets, EVM assets, and even SOL assets in the future.
• Nostr accounts can directly participate in DAPPs on CKB, such as Mint assets, interactive Defi, and the latest blink on SOL and Farcaster’s Frame applet.
• CKB’s upcoming Lightning Network will make payments faster and the overall implementation process simpler. You don’t need to bind an additional Lightning account. Moreover, CKB’s Lightning Network can even run smart contracts to achieve some logical control.
• All Event content on Nostr has the potential to directly program different types of assets on the CKB network. The Event mechanism and CKB’s POW network can effectively ensure the ownership of assets, which will generate many interesting ideas for asset interaction, asset issuance, etc.

Of course, I don’t think that using this set of logic to create a product that imitates existing social software can achieve great success. It needs to find a more suitable scenario, a scenario that strongly requires “payment” and “messaging”. The combination of this scenario may be a key to unlocking the market.

Ambition

I have high expectations for the CKB and RGB++ teams in my heart, so I use the word “ambition” to express my expectations for their future, which also includes their prospects and plans for the future.

It is not easy to develop a POW chain that has been running for so many years and maintain updates and new narratives. You can find many counterexamples in this market. It is difficult to maintain the original intention of doing the project.

So, what are the ambitions of CKB and RGB++? Maybe:

RGB++ is being built into numerous channels, connecting a majority of upper-layer assets and linking to more UTXO chains. At the intersection of these channels stands a castle forged by CKB, a central hub that can widely support various Web2/Web3 applications, including payments, social interactions, finance, gaming, and more.

Disclaimer：

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