Will technological advancement affect Bitcoin trading and pricing? Evidence from BRC-20 tokens

Abstract

We reveal how technological innovation impacts cryptocurrency network operations and market information structures, using BRC-20 tokens as an example. By collecting on-chain blockchain data and exchange data from March 2023 to March 2024, we find that the introduction of BRC-20 tokens significantly alters Bitcoin transaction activity, manifests as a decrease in unique addresses, increased per-unit transaction fees, and extended confirmation times. Furthermore, we expand the research framework for Bitcoin market price efficiency by identifying market information, public information, private information, and noise in the Bitcoin market. We show that introducing BRC-20 tokens increases the market information share while reducing dependence on public information, with almost no negative impact on the share of private information. Finally, we construct a “technological innovation, blockchain response, market adjustment” dynamic analysis framework to evaluate and reveal that the Bitcoin network has significant self-healing capabilities and can quickly digest the impact of new types of tokens after major technical upgrades such as ORDI listing, announcing and launching the BRC-20 swap, and the Ordinals Jubilee update. This research provides investors with empirical evidence of the Bitcoin network's self-healing capabilities, helping them more accurately assess the short and long-term impacts of technological shocks on the market, thereby formulating more effective investment strategies.