Counterparty (XCP) Counterparty is one of Bitcoin's earliest meta-protocols (2014). It embeds asset / smart-contract metadata in Bitcoin transactions via , enabling token issuance, DEX trades, betting, and asset management. Mechanics - All Counterparty data is embedded in outputs of Bitcoin txs. - A separate Counterparty parser reads Bitcoin blockchain, extracts Counterparty events, maintains state. - Native token: XCP (used for issuance fees, betting). - Asset issuance: lock 1 XCP to issue named tokens. Major past events - Rare Pepes (2016-2017): NFT-precursor on Counterparty (long before Or…