Ren crypto is a native token of the Ren protocol that provides connectivity and liquidity flow between different blockchains. Developers create blockchains using different approaches to make it better than the competitors or fitter for some specific purposes. As a result, tokens built on top of different blockchains cannot communicate without additional bridges.
Ren and other companies are specialized in building the bridges between blockchains to maintain communication between different networks. This interoperability of blockchains opens new horizons for the DeFi sector development and creates new avenues for the wider blockchain adoption. So the need for such bridges cannot be underestimated.
Bitcoin is still the most popular cryptocurrency, however, NFT markets and a huge part of the DeFi sector are leaning towards the Ethereum blockchain. That’s why cross-chain connectivity is crucial to seamlessly bring the owners of the top cryptocurrency to the cutting-edge technologies on the crypto market.
This article delves into the prospects of the Ren cryptocurrency, reviews the Ren protocol and answers such questions as where to buy Ren token and is Ren a good investment.
What Is the Ren Protocol?
Ren is an open protocol made to set connectivity between different blockchain-based networks and maintain the stable liquidity flow in the DeFi platforms’ operations. It holds the assets based on one blockchain while minting the corresponding amount of the ERC20 version of this token that can be used on Ethereum (for instance, BTC can be turned into renBTC). The blockchains supported by Ren are not restricted to Bitcoin and Ethereum – Ren can interconnect most of the platforms.
The main purpose of Ren is that it allows users to swap tokens based on different blockchains in one action, without having to make a wrapped version of a token or anything like that. All the additional steps are automated by Ren. The user only changes one currency for another. The fees collected by Ren are mostly paid to miners. Users can regulate the gas fees to change the transaction speed. The users’ private keys participating in transactions are distributed between nodes and no node has access to full private key data. It protects the keys from theft. Another Ren purpose is a virtual computational network – a network of virtual computers makes up a Ren Virtual Machine. These computers are called Darknodes.
The company was founded in 2017 by Taiyang Zhang, who occupies the CEO chair as of January 2024. The initial name of the Ren protocol was Republic Protocol. A year later, the name was changed to shorter Ren. Following the 2018 ICO in which $34 million was raised the Ren Virtual Machine (RenVM) was launched.
In 2022 the development of the platform slowed down. However, the developers involved are still promising to move Ren forward and the token’s price continues to rise and fall.
Security
As a platform serving as a custodian, Ren needs to be as safe as possible. In this regard, the dev team did a good job. Ren is a Byzantine fault tolerant (BFT) network, meaning that the possibilities of bad actors shrink to zero. The protocol provides an ECDSA threshold key generation and signing through multi-party computation (sMPC).
Bonding and algorithmically adjusted fees prevent hackers from profiting from attacks on the network. Through the algorithmic fee adjustment, the token price’s one-to-one peg is preserved even in the event of a successful hacker attack. The network stays trustless and non-custodian.
What Is Ren Token?
Ren (REN) token powers the Ren network and bonds the RenVM nodes runners. To register and launch a node user needs to bond 100,000 REN. This measure prevents spammers from exploiting the network. As the node is deregistered, the money goes back to the user.
Throughout the years, REN price went through a series of ups and downs. REN peaked in 2021 amidst the overall crypto market rally. The all-time-high for REN stands above $1.7 (February 2021). In 2021, Alameda Research acquired Ren. The company used the Ren-based funds to cover the FTX-related debts. After mid 2022 the REN price stays below $0.2 – most of the time even below $0.1. As of January 12 2024, the REN price is $0.063.
Despite this decline, the token is far from being dead. It continues to react to the general movements of the crypto market and the continuing promises of the dev team to revamp Ren keep people invested in the token. They anticipate the launch of the Ren 2.0 iteration.
It is premature to declare that Ren is done. The community behind this network is very strong. They stayed with the project even though it was barely alive for two years. For sure, if the Ren team launches a new product, the REN token has all chances for a price boost.
Where to Buy Ren (REN)?
Although the Ren project wasn’t that active after 2022, the token is still available on the top crypto exchanges around the world. It explains the token’s sustainability in the turbulent period. Anyone can invest in REN easily as the chance of finding a REN-based pair on one of the exchanges available in your country is pretty high.
REN is traded on such top exchanges as Binance, Kraken, OKX, Gate.io, MEXC, BitMart, KuCoin, Gemini, ByBit, LATOKEN, and HTX. You can also find REN on WazirX, Bitget, CoinEx, Tidex, DigiFinex, Bitvavo, LBank, CoinW, and other multiple exchanges. Such DeFi platforms as SuhiSwap and UniSwap also provide REN-based trading pairs.
If you use some crypto exchange that you trust or if you use several of them, check if Ren is traded there. If so, it’s better to stick with the platform you know well. If Ren is not available there, you will have to try out a new platform or opt to buy another token.
If you are going to use a crypto exchange that you have never used before, make sure that it’s safe to use it. First, make sure that the exchange where you want to buy REN is available in your country. Then, check the exchange’s reputation, reading the users’ feedback. Try to find authentic stories online. See if the exchange’s support is responsive and the exchange’s rules and interface are clear. Read about the security measures used by the exchange for funds and data protection. If you can trust the exchange after knowing all this info about it, you can try to buy REN there. If something makes you doubt, check if there is a better option to buy REN.
Is Ren (REN) a Good Investment?
We are not giving investment advice. Please consider all the info that we provided in this article and read more about REN. Learn if Ren fits your requirements of a worthy investment. Figure out the current public stance towards the project, both within the Ren community and outside of it. Do your own research on the subject before you decide to invest your money.
As mentioned above, Ren hasn’t been in its active phase after 2022 while the team that worked on the project is promising a new iteration of Ren. Although the project is yet to come to fruition, the wide community is waiting for it and the token is still available on the biggest exchanges. It doesn’t mean that Ren is somewhat an attractive investment, but for sure it’s far from being a dead coin.
Final Thoughts
Ren is a project with an uneasy fate. Its future is kind of blurry. Ren’s present day price is pretty stable though. More than that, the token is still widely available across multiple exchanges with highest liquidity. It means that in most cases you can safely buy this token in most countries of the world at an attractive price (as big exchanges boast high liquidity). If you better trust DEXs, Uniswap and Sushiswap are nice options to buy Ren without involvement of middlemen.