Similarities between the x402 protocol Meme coin PING and the 2023 BTC inscription trend

Recently, the emergence of the x402 protocol Meme coin PING has sparked heated discussions in the market, with many comparing it to the BTC inscription craze of 2023. So, what similarities do these two have? Will PING evolve like the inscription market? The answer is yes. Let's delve into the logic behind it:

The Core of Similarity: On-Chain Legal Data and Off-Chain Interpretation Rights

The operating mechanism of inscriptions involves users sending transactions to the BTC mainnet and holding specific UTXOs. However, the BTC mainnet itself does not have the ability to determine which transactions are valid. The Ordinals protocol acts as a third-party arbiter, scanning all transactions on the chain and determining valid true inscriptions according to custom rules (such as “first come, first served”).

The operational logic of PING is very similar to it. Users send USDC to a specific address on the Base chain, which is dynamically returned by x402scan. For the Base chain and the x402 protocol, this is just a regular ERC20 transfer. What truly gives this transaction its “minting significance” is the x402scan indexer. It scans all USDC transfers sent to a specific address on the Base chain, determines valid minting according to preset rules (1 USDC = 5000 PING), and then records it in an off-chain database and distributes the tokens through a contract.

Challenges and Development Prospects

Similar to the early resistance faced by the inscription from the Bitcoin Core team, the existence of PING may also be seen as a burden on the Base chain. However, as the open standard x402 protocol, it is difficult to prevent this phenomenon in the short term.

It is worth noting that the minting funds of PING actually flowed into the fund pool wallet designated by x402scan. This model can be seen as a “charge” action, which helps to increase the exposure and dissemination value of the x402 track. It creates usage scenarios for the x402 protocol and serves as a stress test, potentially giving rise to a series of improvements and the possibility of ecological prosperity.

Future Evolution Trends

The core of PING lies in the x402scan indexer. However, there are some issues: assets are held under centralized entities, which goes against the original intention of the x402 protocol to open payment channels for AI Agents; there are doubts about compatibility with other x402 protocols; and there is a lack of unified standards for operations such as minting, transferring, and burning.

Therefore, we can foresee that in the future, there may be more new “inscriptions” claiming to be “orthodox”. They may improve the custody methods, change the form of sending transaction minting, or gain support from native protocols, etc. Even in extreme cases, such as the x402scan protocol running away or a fund pool being stolen, it would be difficult to stop the development of this trend.

Conclusion

The outbreak of x402 narrative has become inevitable, and PING is just sounding the charge. The subsequent evolution of the market may take many forms, but there is no need to be overly anxious. The upcoming developments are worth our continued attention and participation.