Core idea
Instead of leaning on serialised inscription semantics for every balance update, Runes uses a defined message format to create and transfer token balances in ways that are easier for wallets and indexers to reason about — while still competing for blockspace like any other use.
Etching vs minting
Etching defines the rune: name, divisibility, premine terms, and issuance rules. Minting follows those rules in subsequent transactions. Getting the economics wrong at etch time is permanent — there is no “patch” that changes human incentives.
Why miners notice
New issuance and trading activity can lift fee pressure in feerate spikes. That can be good for miner revenue and annoying for users sending urgent on-chain payments. The policy debate (what “belongs” on L1) is separate from the engineering fact: demand for blockspace is demand for blockspace.
Compared to Ordinals-only experiments
Many BRC-20 style flows created extra UTXO management overhead for users who didn’t realise they were carrying dust-like outputs. Runes doesn’t magically fix fee markets — but it is designed with cleaner state transitions in mind.