What is Ren?
The Ren token, or REN, is a utility token native to the Ren crypto project. The latter is a permissionless protocol enabling transfers between different blockchains.
REN is based on the ERC-20 token standard and has several uses.
Initially, the core function of the Ren token was to cover fees that were paid out as rewards to darknodes. However, this changed after the project underwent a major rebranding process. Now REN is used as a bond for operating darknodes.
The Ren token was launched via an Initial Coin Offering that was split into 2 stages: the private sale and the crowdsale. The private sale was initiated in January of 2018, while the crowdsale started a month later, in February of 2018.
During the ICO events, Ren managed to sell 60.2% of all Ren coins and raise around 34,000,000 US Dollars.
There is a total supply of 1,000,000,000 Ren tokens. They have been distributed as follows:
- 60.2% - ICO;
- 19.9% - Reserve;
- 9.9% - Core Team;
- 5% - Early Partners;
- 5% - Community Development.
The native tokens of the Ren Protocol can’t be mined. This means users can only purchase the token via supported exchanges.
With the tool in the section above, you can have a better look at the REN price history and the current Ren price.
What are the Main Features of Ren?
The Ren Protocol is a completely decentralized trading pool powered by darknodes - a global network of computers. It’s deployed on the Ethereum blockchain.
As discussed in the What is Ren section, the protocol allows the transfer of value across multiple blockchains. The protocol itself is quite complex as it can be utilized in various ways, such as facilitating multi-chain token transfers or enabling interoperability for DeFi projects.
Moreover, the Ren Protocol enables the use of Bitcoin on the Ethereum blockchain. This is made possible by another native token of the Ren Protocol - renBTC, which is pegged to BTC on a 1:1 ratio.
One of the main components of the Ren Protocol is RenVM - a virtual machine mainnet, whose main responsibility is to complete transactions while maintaining the confidentiality of the information.
Darknodes are part of a decentralized custodian system and are the backbone of RenVM. To put it simply, darknodes represent storage space that’s provided by a network of physical computers worldwide. There is a limited number of computers within a darknode network, which stands at 10,000.
Ren has been audited by ChainSecurity, Consensys Diligence, and Trail of Bits in terms of smart contracts, hyperdrive, and RZL MPC. These reports are publicly available for anyone to review.
Who Developed Ren?
The Ren crypto project was launched in 2017. It’s a Singapore-based company co-founded by Taiyang Zhang and Loong Wang.
He and Loong Wang received their education from the Australian National University. The duo worked together at Neucode before co-founding Ren. Their newest project is Talo Labs.
Taiyang Zhang served as the CEO of Ren from its inception until late 2021 when he stepped down from the CEO position. However, he hasn’t completely left the project and now works as an advisor.
Ren was not the first company co-founded by Taiyang Zhang. His other projects are KeeperDAO and Virgil Capital, both of which are based on blockchain technologies.
Loong Wang is the CTO of Ren. Prior to co-founding the project, he worked as a software developer.
At first, Ren was introduced to the public under a different name - Republic Protocol. In 2019 the project went through a complete rebranding process and was reintroduced as the Ren Protocol.
Some of the project's investors include major companies in the crypto world such as FBG Capital, Huobi Capital, Kenetic Capital, and Polychain Capital.
Interested? Make sure to do your research before going any further. You can start by checking out the Ren price in the above section.
