Here is an attempt to convert the STET manifesto text into Markdown format for inscription:

# STET - A Sub-protocol of the Ordinals Protocol

- STET is latin for "Let it Stand".  
- STET is also an acronym for Sats Transformed as Encoded Tokens.

## STET Manifesto

STET Protocol is an Ordinals Sub-Protocol that aligns with the ethos of Ordinal Theory, adheres to all of Ordinals Protocol standards and improves upon the many BRC-20 token meta-protocol variants that are being proposed and deployed to the wild. STET takes a different approach that is more native to Bitcoin and Ordinals in order to introduce efficiencies and avoids the need for new trusted third party indexers that are built to handle overlay and decoupled accounting schemes.

### Bitcoin-Native Architecture

STET uses the native Bitcoin UTXO accounting model and transforms sats into tokens with recyclability as a capability. Stet will introduce a new token design and will even use Bitcoin and the UTXO model in new innovative ways. The STET Protocol design etches offchain Ordinal sat serial numbers onto the blockchain itself and does it in an elegantly functional way.

Just as Bitcoin is not aware of Ordinals, Ordinals need not be aware of STET. And yet, both STET and Ordinals will benefit from each other's existence.

### UTXO Management

The STET Protocol requires robust UTXO management by design and this itself can result in a broad benefit to the Bitcoin ecosystem. UTXO management is an esoteric Bitcoin concept that few consumer-grade wallets currently support properly in a front-facing way if at all. STET will bring UTXO management and awareness to the forefront and do so as the familiar token-management experience. UTXOs and the sats inside them together with special transaction methods and stet-aware software interpreters will allow for seamless, efficient and trustless bitcoin-native functionality.

### True Decentralization   

STET will stay true to Casey Rodamor's intentions when he conceived, built and gifted Ordinals Theory and the reference software to the world. While STET is a token protocol, the motivation is to expand on what a token is and can do more so than enabling a plethora of "shitcoins". Stet aims to inject a more honest inheritance of Bitcoin security rather than infer it as a buzz term. 

> "Ordinal theory imbues satoshis with numismatic value, allowing them to be collected and traded as curios." - Casey Rodamor

Likewise, STET imbues "stet sats" with onchain metadata and numismatic value, allowing them to be branded, tracked, traded, swapped, sold and transformed without Layer 2 convolution.

### Social Consensus

Ordinals Theory relies on social consensus that the serial numbers based on FIFO accounting are real and exist. These sequential serial numbers are of course not onchain in any way. They don't necessarily need to be as long as there is software built supporting and adopting the social consensus that handles the tracking and sorting of sats according to Ordinal Theory. 

However, the indexer layer is not decentralized (yet), it is federated at best but mostly there is just cooperation to check API results and if discrepencies exist, sort it out as a community. Still, open source software (and services) and the transparency of the Bitcoin blockchain does allow anyone to read the ledger's transaction data to determine which ord/stet sats that we possess. This, however, is where trustlessness ends as trusted solutions due to poor protocol designs are again re-introduced into the Bitcoin ecosystem. STET avoids this scenario by leveraging the native UTXO model and by tokenizing sats themselves.

### Bitcoin Plus Nothing

We do not need centralized exchanges and the notion that L2s are critical or even mandatory for the Bitcoin ecosystem to succeed is false. I argue that Bitcoin itself can be used differently than originally intended/envisioned and how it has been used for the past 14 years. Ordinals unlocked potential but most are still stuck in a legacy mindset either intentionally (for profit and keeping years of product dev relevant) or unintentionally due to limited narrow-mindedness.

### The STET Reset

STET is a RESET! The concepts proposed for STET will start at the root, be more of an inside-out design and ultimately is a refactoring of what is currently happening in the Ordinals meta-protocol ecosystem. The STET Protocol will live entirely outside of the current "XRC-XXX" protocol ecosystem and is NOT an extension protocol like the proposed BRC-21. STET is not meant to be compatible with BRC-20 etc because it is a fundamentally different model despite certain similarities retained in order to maintain some level of familiarity with BRC-20 (token deployments). Mainly, STET will still use a JSON inscription to deploy a token but will omit such inscriptions for mint and transfer operations since STET uses sats as tokens.

STET will also utilize a modified Ordinals protocol specifier at the inscription envelope layer. This will allow for a namespaced category of inscriptions that is seperate from all current inscriptions yet still adhere to all "ord" protocol standards. The namespaced protocol specifier will simply be ord:stet rather than just ord. The decision to be a namespace tethered to ord rather than be a fully seperate arbitrary protocol specifier such as just stet is to signal that STET inherits all of Ordinals Protocol and Theory, mainly and most importantly trackable sat serial numbers.


## Motivation

The motivation to write this meta-protocol derives from my observations of the current trajectory of development in the Ordinals ecosystem revolving around the plethora of token meta-layer protocols that are all built with the premise that the foundation is solid and true to the Bitcoin standard and ethos. And yet, what is actually happening is hasty attempts to capitalize on the Bitcoin brand that represents the most secure and decentralized ledger machine in the world. This haste, mostly for capitalistic agendas, is resulting in poor technological design decisions and irresponsible adoption and implementation of them.  
However, I understand the predicament since an industry of opportunists latched onto BRC-20 and offsprings. Some, like myself, now want to make improvements for the current state of the Bitcoin culture. In times like this, even a dumpster fire can result in new innovations. I am sure to many, rewinding and restarting seems just as challenging as just moving forward with patches and stopgap solutions. So, very few people truly want to discuss the most logical paths forward amongst all the profitable chaos.

## Parting Thoughts

I am rogue. I hope you consider what is proposed here and eventually play with and implement the ideas. I feel that it is a more pure model that fundamentally inherits both Bitcoin and Ordinals characteristics rather than straying towards centralized entities and trust. Stay true to Bitcoin and let us try not to repeat mistakes of the past.

Thank you, Satoshi. 
Thank you, Casey.

Stetoshi Tokemota 🖖