Original author: Haotian (X: @tmel0211 )

Many people say that the emergence of $PING is very similar to the BTC inscription craze of 2023. Why is it similar? In what ways? Will it evolve and develop in the same way as the inscription market? The answer is: yes. Okay, let's explain the specific logic below:

1) Why is it similar? The core lies in the legal data on the chain and the right of interpretation off the chain.

The logic behind inscriptions is this: a user sends a transaction to the BTC mainnet and acquires a specific UTXO. However, the BTC mainnet lacks the ability to determine which transactions are valid. The Ordinals protocol acts as an indexer, determining whether inscriptions are valid. Acting as a third-party referee, it scans all transactions on the chain and determines which inscriptions are valid based on its own rules, such as "first is first."

The operating logic of PING is almost the same: the user sends USDC to a specific address on the Base chain, and the address is dynamically returned by x402scan. This is equivalent to the user issuing a "payment request" to the x402 protocol, but the Base chain and the x402 protocol themselves do not know that this is mint $PING. In their eyes, this is just an ordinary ERC20 transfer.

What really gives this transaction "mint meaning" is the indexer x402scan: it scans all USDC transfers sent to a specific address on the Base chain, and according to its own defined rules (1 USDC = 5000 $PING), it determines which transactions are "valid mints", then records them in the off-chain database and distributes tokens through the contract.

2) For example, when the inscription was first introduced, it was opposed by the Bitcoin Core team, as its existence served no purpose other than to clutter the BTC mainnet with transaction dust. Clearly, $PING follows a similar logic, but like the BTC mainnet, the x402 protocol, as an open standard, is powerless in the short term, even if it's unpopular.

The principle is very simple. The assets that everyone inscribes are still on the BTC mainnet. The inscriptions have no hype value anymore, and releasing them can return some BTC. However, the PINGs that everyone mints are actually in the treasury wallet specified by x402scan. The team is crowdfunding and issuing coins at the same time, and the real x402 protocol is just "freeloaded" before and after.

Don't rush to criticize me. As I mentioned earlier, this action is a "charge" initiative, significantly contributing to the exposure and dissemination of the value of the x402 platform. It effectively creates a use case for the x402 protocol, with immediate impact. It's also a stress test for the protocol, undoubtedly a "singularity in the x402 narrative," potentially spurring a series of improvements and potentially a thriving ecosystem.

3) Will it evolve like the inscription market? Yes , as mentioned earlier, the purpose of PING is essentially the x402scan indexer. However, it clearly has significant issues: for example, assets are held in the name of a centralized entity, which violates the original intention of the x402 protocol to open a payment channel for AI agents. It may not be seamlessly compatible with other x402 protocols, and there are no unified operational specifications for minting, transfers, and destruction.

Therefore, following the evolutionary logic of BRC20-ARC20-SRC20-Runes, I believe there will be many new "inscriptions" claiming to be more "orthodox".

For example, improving custody methods, changing the way transaction mints are issued, obtaining native protocol support, and so on. To exaggerate, even if the x402scan protocol runs away or the Treasury absconds with funds, it will not be able to stop this trend. Pandora's box has been opened!

above.

Let me reiterate a point: the explosion of the x402 narrative is certain, and $PING has only sounded the charge. There may be many ways for the subsequent market to evolve. The above sharing is just cognitive logic and does not constitute any investment advice. However, there is no need to worry, and it is worth joining in the fun that is about to happen!

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