Elastos Launches Marketplace For ‘Smart Inscriptions’ On Bitcoin

Elastos, a project that builds tooling for developers tools to build and deploy open-source SmartWeb dApps, has launched the first Bitcoin-based ‘Smart Inscription’ marketplace.

Using their BeL2 technology, an Elastos-built layer 2 scaling solution for Bitcoin, the new marketplace works by creating "daughter" inscriptions on the Elastos Sidechain (ESC), which are linked to “mother” inscriptions on the Bitcoin blockchain.

This solution allows for additional smart contract programmability on top of Bitcoin without the need for additional expensive transactions on the layer 1 blockchain.

Elastos’ native ELA token has tripled its market capitalization since Dec. 18. It trades for $3.34 with a market cap of $72M, ranking #455 on Coingecko.

In a press release shared exclusively with The Defiant, Sasha Mitchell, Elastos’ head of BeL2, outlined the benefits of Smart Inscriptions, such as reduced costs, divisibility, and increased utility of Bitcoin-based value.

“The availability of ‘Smart Inscriptions’ extends beyond the current scope of merely working with Bitcoin. BeL2 supports individual 'sats' and their unique inscribed value, creating a granular solution that delivers 'smart everything' for the Bitcoin ecosystem,” said Mitchell.

The team added that while current inscriptions cannot interact with smart contracts, the introduction of smart inscriptions, facilitated by BeL2 Technology, will enable this interaction.

Today’s announcement continues the growing trend of projects tapping into the emerging inscription space. Bitcoin has seen a renaissance of projects since the launch of Ordinals in early 2023, sparking similar ecosystems on Ethereum, Near Protocol, Avalanche, and Polygon, among others.