The Runes Protocol, a Bitcoin-based fungible token standard, has unveiled a major upgrade introducing “agents” to enable Automated Market Makers (AMMs) directly on Bitcoin’s (BTC) Layer 1.

This development aims to enhance decentralized trading capabilities while maintaining Bitcoin’s security and trustless nature.

Casey Rodarmor, the creator of Runes, announced the upgrade on March 20. The agents utilize an “interactive transaction construction” mechanism to allow market makers to add liquidity to Runes AMMs in a trustless manner.

The feature is designed to tackle inefficiencies in Bitcoin-based token trading, such as “batch splitting” and “mempool front-running,” which have previously hindered seamless on-chain trading.

Enhancing Bitcoin’s DeFi Landscape

The Runes Protocol was originally developed to introduce fungible tokens on Bitcoin using its Unspent Transaction Output (UTXO) model.

Unlike BRC-20, which relies on Ordinals inscriptions and can lead to inefficient transaction batching, Runes aims to improve token efficiency while integrating natively with Bitcoin’s existing architecture.

The latest “agents” upgrade further expands Runes’ capabilities by enabling AMMs, a critical component in DeFi. AMMs facilitate token swaps without relying on traditional order books by using liquidity pools where traders can exchange assets in an automated manner instead.

According to Rodarmor:

“With this upgrade, Runes AMMs will allow market makers to add liquidity seamlessly and trustlessly, solving key issues in decentralized trading on Bitcoin.”

Solving key trading challenges

Before this development, Bitcoin-native AMMs were mostly limited to L2 solutions like Stacks, where projects such as Bitflow and Pontis launched AMMs to address Bitcoin’s transaction speed and cost limitations.

The introduction of agents on the main Bitcoin network aims to bring similar functionality to the base chain while leveraging its industry-defining security and decentralization.

Market makers providing liquidity to Runes AMMs will benefit from reduced risks associated with centralized market-making solutions, as the interactive transaction construction method ensures trustless and transparent liquidity provisioning.

Additionally, the introduction of agents helps mitigate issues like front-running, where malicious actors exploit mempool visibility to manipulate trade execution. By improving transaction integrity, Runes AMMs could make decentralized trading more efficient and secure.

While the launch date for Runes AMM agents has yet to be confirmed, the upgrade represents a significant milestone in expanding Bitcoin’s on-chain financial infrastructure.

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