Fractal Bitcoin: A New Darling of the BTC Ecosystem or Just a Follower?

Since September, with the community frenzy sparked by Fractal, the market focus has shifted back to the Bitcoin ecosystem. There are three main reasons why Fractal has attracted such significant attention: First, the current market is sluggish and lacks fresh narratives; second, influenced by Unisat's previous generous airdrop of Pizza, many users place great importance on Fractal's launch, even intensely competing during the testnet phase; third, the high yield effects brought by asset protocols like Cat20 continue to ferment, driving the popularity of Fractal to rise continuously.

In addition, the official hunger marketing of Unisat also played a role in promoting the trend. Due to the small initial circulating supply of FB, as on-chain competition intensified, the price of FB soared, becoming a kind of "golden shovel" in a sense, indirectly accelerating the development of Fractal.

Based on the above reasons, it is particularly necessary to analyze Fractal in depth.

Fractal Overview: BTC Native Scaling Solution

Fractal Bitcoin is an infinitely recursive extension scheme based on the BitcoinCore code itself. It is designed as a second-layer network or sidechain for Bitcoin, serving as a native extension of the first-layer network, enhancing transaction efficiency by accelerating block generation speed and increasing block capacity while maintaining orthodoxy. Its working principle includes full compatibility with the Bitcoin mainnet while providing faster transaction confirmations such as 30 seconds block generation and a block capacity that is 20 times greater than that of the Bitcoin mainnet.

As a native extension solution, Fractal can start from the Bitcoin main chain to achieve cross-layer secure asset transfer. Bitcoin and assets like BRC-20 and Ordinals can be bridged through a decentralized bridge. The underlying mechanism is a dynamically replaced rotating MPC signature mechanism, while also considering specific aspects of the BRC-20 standard.

Fractal functions more like the Bitcoin testnet, supporting some features that have not yet been activated on the mainnet. It serves as a great testing ground, providing better UX and performance optimization, making it very suitable for experimental innovation in complex applications. At the same time, it allows users to participate and provide feedback in a real environment, similar to the significance of EVM layer2 for Ethereum.

Investment and Financing: Development Momentum Under Strong Partnerships

The fractal Bitcoin network was developed in collaboration by UniSat and Block Space Force. As the main developer, Unisat is a leading Bitcoin wallet with over 900,000 active users weekly. It has received five rounds of undisclosed financing, two of which were led by a major exchange, with several well-known institutions participating.

Block Space Force is a crypto-native fund with a portfolio that includes several well-known projects, experienced in USD A9 exits and investing in 100x projects, as well as developing globally used blockchain applications. Overall, Unisat's resources are more prominent, with its successful brand and the generous Pizza airdrop attracting a large number of loyal users, making it the best endorsement for Fractal.

Under the promotion of two project parties, Fractal implemented a series of strategic plans to initiate user and developer participation. After the mainnet launch, Fractal airdropped 1 million FB tokens to over 100,000 qualified addresses and launched several developer funding programs, demonstrating its ambition for ecological development.

Fractal Highlights: Advantages Stand Out

The main highlights of Fractal lie in the performance optimization and improvements based on the Bitcoin mainnet, as well as the introduction of a new asset issuance method and ecological applications. One could metaphorically say that Fractal is like an old bottle made from the resources of the Bitcoin mainnet, filled with a new wine of asset issuance methods.

The overall design of Fractal allows Bitcoin and assets such as BRC-20 and Ordinals to cross chains through a decentralized bridge. Transactions on the Fractal Bitcoin network can subsequently interact or synchronize with the Bitcoin mainnet, while providing faster confirmation times and larger block capacities.

Implementation Path: Multi-layer Expansion, Mining Mechanism and OP_CAT

( multi-layer expansion mechanism

Fractal enhances transaction speed by recursively expanding layers, establishing multiple layers of expansion on the Bitcoin main chain, forming a tree structure. This design allows each layer to further fork, increasing parallel processing capacity. Each layer can independently process transactions and dynamically adjust the number of layers as needed. During peak transaction periods, it can rapidly increase layers to handle more transactions, flexibly responding to various loads.

) Cadence Mining ( Cadence Mining )

Fractal adopts the same PoW consensus mechanism as Bitcoin, which means BTC miners can seamlessly transition to Fractal mining using existing hardware, effectively killing two birds with one stone, improving efficiency and increasing profits.

Fractal mining is divided into two types: permissionless mining and merged mining. Out of every three blocks, two are generated through permissionless mining and one through merged mining. Permissionless mining allows anyone to participate, while merged mining is specifically aimed at BTC miners, enabling them to mine both BTC and Fractal blocks without additional computing power.

OP_CAT

OP_CAT is an opcode in the Bitcoin scripting language used for string concatenation. It was removed in 2010 for security reasons, but it provides the necessary scripting capabilities to build more complex trustless Bitcoin infrastructures. Fractal's introduction of OP_CAT could bring more development possibilities to the BTC ecosystem, such as on-chain applications, smart contracts, and more.

![Exploring BTC's New Favorite: Is Fractal an Ecological Revolution or a Follower?]###https://img-cdn.gateio.im/webp-social/moments-25447cbfc1a60ccb13745d296d455bc1.webp(

Fractal Tokenomics

The Fractal mainnet primarily consumes two types of tokens: $FB as general gas and $SATS as the exclusive gas for a certain decentralized exchange.

The total issuance is 210 million coins, and after the mainnet goes live, only the tokens produced by mining can circulate, while other tokens have a lock-up mechanism, with private placement locked for six months.

Distribution Plan:

• 50% PoW mining, BTC miners can directly mine $FB
• 15% ecosystem treasury, supporting Fractal ecological projects
• 15% core contributors, linear release after 7 months to 12 months
• 10% community subsidy for cooperation and liquidity programs
• 5% presale, locked for 7 months and released linearly over 12 months
• 5% advisor, up to 20% can be used each year within 5 years

Currently, it is unclear whether participants in the testnet will receive airdrop rewards. In the short term, 45% of the tokens are controlled by the official, which may pose risks. The official has released multiple addresses for tracking the use of funds.

![Explore BTC's New Favorite: Is Fractal an Ecological Revolution or a Follower?])https://img-cdn.gateio.im/webp-social/moments-1686b51d2ee16e9d7c7eac350063e6b8.webp###

Fractal Ecosystem Overview

( CAT 20

The hottest ecological protocol of Fractal currently is the CAT20 launched by the CAT Protocol, with a total supply of 21 million coins. Although there are potential risks, the community sentiment and KOL promotion have attracted a large number of users to participate, pushing the on-chain Gas fee to nearly 7000. The FB price was once speculated to reach 40U, indicating the market's enthusiasm for CAT20.

The innovations of the CAT protocol include the use of the OP_CAT opcode, adapting to the Fractal ecosystem; providing modular and programmable minting, supporting complex DeFi applications; transactions are fully verified by miners, reducing reliance on indexers.

The CAT20 trading market is still under research, and official support is expected to come. However, the protocol is still in its early stages, and its feasibility needs further verification.

![Exploring the new darling of BTC: Is Fractal an ecological revolution or a follower?])https://img-cdn.gateio.im/webp-social/moments-171113404f3dd01032f937984fa6c8c2.webp(

) BTCTerminal

BTCTerminal is a project that has received considerable attention. Originally a provider of infrastructure for the Runes protocol, it was later renamed and integrated into the Fractal ecosystem. Currently, it offers a comprehensive trading market, supports querying Mint progress, wallet balances, etc., and will support Cat721 in the future. Recently, it launched an FB mining power leasing activity.

UniWorlds

UniWorlds is a metaverse project built on Fractal, developing community and gaming tools for interoperable virtual worlds. As the first large application on Fractal, it has received joint investments from UniSat and others, and is a project clearly supported by official endorsement.

( BRC20

After the activation of the BRC20 function, on-chain Gas fees remained high, attracting some attention. However, the performance of top inscription projects has been average, with a common occurrence of startup funding or studio monopolies. The future development prospects still need to be tested by the market.

![Exploring BTC's New Favorite: Is Fractal an Ecological Revolution or a Follower?])https://img-cdn.gateio.im/webp-social/moments-2b583156ca830db2afaaedb3d9a017cf.webp###

Considerations for Participation Groups

Retail Investor Perspective

The new narrative and high popularity brought by Fractal attract on-chain retail investors to participate in the creation and speculation of new types of assets. With 50% of the time cost in POW production, retail investors can temporarily hold a larger number of chips, making the current time possibly the best opportunity for profit.

Miner Perspective

BTC miners can mine BTC and FB simultaneously. If the Fractal ecosystem continues to improve and the demand for FB exceeds the output, miners can drive up the price of FB for profit. Conversely, stagnation in the ecosystem can lead to a decline in the value of FB. When the value of FB stabilizes after being listed, it may be the best time for miners to sell.

( VC and other resource parties

Large exchanges may launch FB or use resources to influence the Fractal ecosystem trend. The entry of large capital may promote ecological development, but it may also weaken the voice of retail investors, prioritizing institutional interests.

Conclusion

Currently, there are not many innovations in Fractal, mainly focusing on compatibility and optimization of the mainnet. The ecosystem is still in its early stages, and the prospects of new projects are unknown, requiring time and market validation.

![Exploring the new darling of BTC: Is Fractal an ecological revolution or a trend follower?])https://img-cdn.gateio.im/webp-social/moments-215dc211a973d39eaa4d37697f50b228.webp###