Ren (REN) is an open-source protocol designed to enable seamless interaction and liquidity between different blockchain networks.
For a detailed exploration of this project, take a look at our comprehensive analysis of Ren.
Initially called Republic Protocol, Ren introduced its mainnet, RenVM, in May 2020 following a $34 million initial coin offering (ICO) back in 2018.
The protocol uses its native token, REN, as a bond for the operators of its nodes, which are integral to running RenVM and are known as Darknodes.
Ren's goal is to enhance the interoperability and accessibility of decentralized finance (DeFi) by eliminating barriers to liquidity across various blockchains.
Who are the creators of Ren?
Taiyang Zhang established Ren in 2017 and serves as its CEO. Initially branded as Republic Protocol, Ren made its debut in January 2018, with Zhang describing its initial function as a "decentralized dark pool."
Zhang brings prior experience from the crypto world, having also co-founded the crypto hedge fund Virgil Capital.
Before venturing into the crypto industry, he co-founded Neucode, a startup focused on software and web development, in 2014. Jaz Gulati, who co-founded Neucode alongside Zhang, is currently a software developer at Ren.
What sets Ren apart?
Ren is a sophisticated platform offering a range of use cases, primarily designed to lower the barriers for DeFi projects and investors.
Functioning as a plug-in, it enables DeFi projects to incorporate assets like Bitcoin (BTC) and Zcash (ZEC) into their services. In a broader sense, it allows users to exchange any token across different blockchains without intermediary steps such as utilizing “wrapped” tokens like Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC) and Wrapped Ethereum (WETH).
RenVM consists of a network of virtual computers that form a virtual machine, with the underlying network powered by nodes called Darknodes.
While Ren imposes various fees for its operations, most are directed to miners rather than contributing to direct profits. As an ERC-20 token, REN also incurs variable gas fees for transaction processing.
How many Ren (REN) tokens are in circulation?
The total supply of REN tokens is capped at 1 billion (1,000,000,000). In 2018, Ren conducted both a presale and a public token sale, during which 60.2% of the total supply was distributed to investors.
Additionally, Ren has a reserve fund initially allocated with 19.9% of the supply, while 9.9% was set aside for advisors, the team, and the founders. Tokens allocated to the team were subject to a two-year lock-up period, and advisors faced a lock-up of six months.
Furthermore, 10% of REN's supply is earmarked for activities like partnerships and development.
REN is an ERC-20 token.
How is the Ren network secured?
RenVM employs a byzantine fault-tolerant protocol, enabling ECDSA threshold key generation and signing through secure multi-party computation (sMPC). This ensures that RenVM can safely manage (ECDSA) private keys across different blockchains, allowing for token movement and interoperability between them.
The network is currently in the initial phase of its decentralization journey. For more details on RenVM's decentralization pathway, please check Ren's Wiki.
Where can you purchase Ren (REN)?
REN is available for trading on numerous major exchanges, with significant volume on Binance and Huobi Global as of October 2020. Trading pairs include cryptocurrencies, fiat currencies, and stablecoins.
New to cryptocurrencies? Check out our simple guide on buying Bitcoin and other digital currencies.
