# Etching, Minting, Transferring

## Etching

Etching is the process of creating a Rune, setting immutable properties like name, divisibility, symbol, and premine/terms

Once defined, properties are immutable

Runes are identified by a unique ID derived from their etching block and transaction index

## Minting

Minting creates units of a the Rune according to the etching terms, such as cap, amount, and block limits

During minting, anyone may create a transaction to create new Rune units following the specified mint terms

## Transferring

Runes are transferred via transaction outputs, with specific rules governing the output called Edicts

Runestones can contain any number of Edicts

Edicts direct how runes are allocated, being processed in specific order. Additional mechanisms for burning runes are included in the transaction via Edict or Pointer

## Cenotaphs

Invalid Runestones (transactions) are called Cenotaphs

Runes are effectively burned if the input is a Cenotaph. This harsh penalty underscores the importance of precision in transaction construction and encourages careful management of Rune-containing UTXOs

{% hint style="danger" %}
Utilizing the official Ordinal Theory implementation significantly reduces the risk of encountering a cenotaph, essentially a transaction error leading to the burning of Runes.
{% endhint %}
