The launch of the RGB protocol on Mainnet has sparked heated discussions and doubts.

After two years of anticipation, the highly anticipated Bitcoin scaling solution RGB protocol officially launched on the Mainnet at 1 AM on August 7. To encourage users to experience it, the development team also launched the test currency RGB and distributed it to users through the official website faucet.

Although RGB is just a test coin, as the first RGB asset on the Bitcoin Mainnet, it holds special symbolic significance. In the 24 hours leading up to its launch, various tutorials for investing have begun to circulate widely in the community, and investors are eagerly preparing to showcase their skills.

However, when the RGB protocol was finally launched, a dramatic change occurred. The initial enthusiasm was quickly replaced by skepticism and disappointment, and the current progress of the RGB token issuance is even less than 20%. What caused this drastic shift in attitude? Is the RGB protocol still worth participating in? Let's analyze it together.

Introduction to RGB protocol

The RGB protocol, as an off-chain scaling solution for Bitcoin, stores smart contracts and transaction data off-chain while utilizing the Bitcoin Mainnet as a security guarantee. Its core technologies include one-time sealing and client-side validation.

One-time sealing technology ensures that information can only be used once, which naturally fits with Bitcoin's UTXO model. By encrypting and encapsulating RGB asset information and contract status within UTXO, double spending can be effectively prevented, ensuring ledger security.

Client validation allows the transfer of RGB assets to be conducted off-chain independently, without the need to broadcast through the Bitcoin Mainnet. This method improves efficiency and, to some extent, enhances privacy protection.

RGB Token Launch Process

The process of participating in the RGB token offering is relatively simple and is essentially an airdrop distribution model. Users need to transfer funds to the project party and then receive RGB tokens in order. To avoid network congestion, a lock order model is used, which means that the same wallet cannot claim again until the distribution is completed.

The specific steps are as follows:

1. Download and create the Bitlight plugin wallet, and transfer a small amount of BTC (0.0003-0.0005 BTC is enough).
2. Create an RGB UTXO container in the wallet, it is recommended to create one each time, with a capacity of 0.0001 BTC.
3. After the container is created, go to the official website, connect your wallet, and click Claim to receive the tokens.

It is important to note that you can only claim 50 RGB tokens each time, with a total amount of 21 million tokens. According to the current distribution speed, it is expected to take at least 17 hours to complete the entire distribution.

From Enthusiasm to Doubt

Although the operation of the RGB protocol's new token launch activity is simple, it has still raised strong doubts within the community, mainly due to the following reasons:

1. The single distribution amount is too small: only 50 tokens can be claimed each time, resulting in a distribution process that is too lengthy, which may dampen market enthusiasm.

2. Project party charging issue: Each Claim transaction requires transferring about 4 dollars to a fixed address. Based on the total amount, the project party may collect about 1.68 million dollars. Although the project party claims that these fees will be used for future transaction fees, market making, and buybacks, it still raised distrust within the community.

3. Valuation Dispute: Considering the fees charged by the project party and the gas fees paid by users, the initial market value may have approached 2 million USD, which is not considered a low valuation in the current Bitcoin ecosystem.

Conclusion

The attention generated by the launch of the RGB protocol's Mainnet is astonishing, attracting not only regulars from the Bitcoin ecosystem but also many users who usually do not pay much attention to this field. This reflects the market's desire for new technologies and new opportunities.

However, we should also remain rational. In the Bitcoin ecosystem, new protocols are emerging one after another, each with grand visions. However, there are not many projects that can truly land and have an impact. For investors, it is important to carefully assess the actual value and potential of each project, rather than blindly following trends.

In today's world where Bitcoin is widely known, the existence of this niche group, along with their passion for technology and speculation, forms a unique and magical corner of the cryptocurrency world.