What is Ren? Is This Project Worth It?

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Ren is an intriguing project that enables people to buy, sell, and trade digital assets without their purchases, sales, and trades having an impact on the markets due to the volume of transactions.

But there’s more to this project than meets the eye and this is exactly what this article is for. If you want to know more about Ren and its overall potential then we urge you to read on.

What is Ren?

Based on ERC20 standard, the Ren protocol is a decentralized dark pool trading protocol that is built on the Ethereum blockchain and operates in compliance with it. Before that, it was referred to as the “Republic” protocol, and it allowed users to transfer assets between blockchains in a frictionless fashion.

Ren permits inter-blockchain transactions between decentralized dark pools with the use of smart contracts. Using it, investors can participate in over-the-counter (OTC) transactions while keeping their anonymity and confidentiality. OTC transactions have the potential to make massive cryptocurrency transactions outside of cryptocurrency exchanges.

Does Ren Have Potential?

Yes Ren has a lot to offer as a platform and it certainly lives up to the expectations placed upon it. Below are some of the more notable advantages that Ren offers its user base. 

Efficient

When compared to earlier approaches, Ren is a more efficient way to manage cross-chain swaps. RenVM for example can move assets 100 times faster compared to swaps. Additionally, Ren users and developers benefit from higher scalability and lower prices thanks to its efficiency.

More Liquidity

Using Ren, DeFi’s wealth-creating features can be accessed by investors without having to give up control of their assets. As a result, the market has more money to work with. 

Every coin that enters the DeFi market adds a significant amount of liquidity to the market as a whole. NFT collectors and other owners of high-value assets can use this to free up capital and take advantage of other lucrative market possibilities.

Interoperability

Interoperability Between Blockchains

The primary issue that Ren was created to address was a lack of interoperability in the marketplace. Ren proposed a more efficient manner of connecting these networks. Users can utilize the protocol to transfer any token between blockchains, regardless of the type of token. 

Users can now integrate cross-chain assets such as Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash into the decentralized exchanges (DEX) and liquidity pool platforms. Investors who have thousands of dollars invested in long-term strategies can now transfer their funds to the DeFi sector to reap low-risk returns on their investments.

This gives Ren a huge potential and makes it very desirable for people who operate on multiple platforms. 

Ren Overview

Ren’s Mission and Vision

Ren’s mission and vision are to become an open protocol that allows for the private and permissionless transfer of currency between blockchains. To accomplish this, they intend to build a global network of users that will allow any individual to transfer assets between different blockchains.

Ren’s Features

Ren Features

RenBridge

If you want to move assets between blockchains, you can use the Ren virtual machine to accept tokens from one chain and generate new tokens representing the originals on another chain using its RenBridge’s cross-chain capabilities.

With the help of RenBridge, users can mint actual Bitcoin, ZEC, and Bitcoin Cash (BCH) on Ethereum using an ERC20 token. Aside from that, it enables users to convert ERC20 tokens into real-world currencies such as bitcoin, bitcoin cash, ether, and many more.

RenVM

Ren’s main mission and vision are to create a platform where private and permissionless transfer of currency between blockchains will be easy and one of the ways it achieves privacy is using RenVM.

RenVM is a general-purpose Virtual Machine. When using RenVM, you can do private calculations via a decentralized network without having to divulge the underlying data.

RenVM validates proofs and executes zero-knowledge programs using zkSNARK and secure multiparty computations. Additionally, as a general-purpose virtual machine, it can run any form of the program while concealing its inputs, outputs, and state. This ensures the user’s privacy.

zk-SNARK is an abbreviation for “Zero-Knowledge Succinct Non-Interactive Argument of Knowledge,”. It refers to a proof construction where users can prove possession of certain information without revealing that information or requiring any interaction between the prover and verifier.

RenEx and Dark Pools

Another way that Ren will improve privacy is through the use of RenEX which happens to be a dark pool. Dark pools are secret markets that are not available to the general public. They are operated by investment firms and financial institutions that want more privacy between their transactions.

RenEx, an official Ren team-supported dark pool, makes use of a hidden order book powered by Darknodes. 

The hidden order book will be used to set a standard for decentralized privacy-preserving order books on the Ren platform, which will be implemented on the Ethereum blockchain.

When used in conjunction with the Transaction layer, anyone can construct a decentralized dark pool that allows for totally private trading. Dark Pools are a feature that embodies the mission and vision of Ren.

Third-party Dark Pools

Ren will help with the establishment and operation of a large number of autonomous dark pools. Each dark pool can specify a unique set of rules, allowing it to serve and be tailored to the needs of its users.

Dark pools will be able to use RenVM’s hidden order book, which uses a secret order matching engine, to maintain control over any KYC/AML criteria that their traders and brokers must follow. 

Aside from that, dark pools will be able to select which tokens will be supported as well as which regulations will govern the adoption of new tokens. Dark pools will be able to choose their method of settlement. 

Depending on their needs, dark pools on Ren will be able to operate and settle in either a centralized or decentralized manner.

Over The Counter Trading (OTC)

When it comes to over-the-counter trading, Ren is a standout performer. These tasks can be completed through the use of smart contracts provided by the protocol. The assets will not be released until the payment has been confirmed in full by the financial institution. The use of this strategy can reduce the amount of fraud and theft that occurs in the market.

SwapperD

SwapperD is an open-source and independently certified tool that is designed to be readily integrated into third-party applications. Ren’s SwapperD integration helps improve privacy between transactions and ensures permissionless cross-chain transactions which are in line with its mission and vision. 

Improved Private Transactions

A key feature of SwapperD integration is that decentralized exchanges, in particular, will be able to instantaneously conduct any on-chain Ethereum transaction in perfect anonymity by employing zk-SNARKs, allowing for more sensitive OTC deals.

Cross-Chain Support

Additionally, SwapperD will be a wallet that will interact with RenVM and make zkTransactions secure, simple, and straightforward to perform. It will provide cross-chain swaps that are privacy-preserving, as well as a single user interface. 

Interoperability across blockchains is enabled via SwapperD, which improves the capabilities of all Ren ecosystem products. Lastly, SwapperD also provides a common, user-friendly solution for the whole industry to make trustless swaps between blockchains.

Darknodes

The Ren virtual machine is powered by a network of machines collectively referred to as DarkNodes. Without Darknodes Ren wouldn’t be able to function and do basic tasks.

As long as they have a certain quantity of Ren tokens locked up in smart contracts, anyone can run a DarkNode.

Due to their contribution of bandwidth, processing power, and storage capacity to the network, Ren DarkNodes aid in the powering of the Ren virtual machine and allow users to transfer crypto-assets between blockchains.

DarkNode operators are compensated with Ren tokens, which are generated by network fees, in exchange for their assistance in maintaining the network.

To prevent the forging of huge numbers of identities on the Darknode network, a good behavior bond of 100,000 Ren tokens is required before registering and running a Darknode. 

Darknodes can only be produced in limited quantities based on the maximum supply of 1,000,000,000 Ren. RenVM is protected by this bond, which prohibits hostile actors from impersonating a significant number of Darknode identities and taking control of the system.

It is necessary to implement a cooling-off period to prevent Darknodes from leaving before their bonds are reduced, and the Darknode’s identity is finally deregistered to prevent them from fleeing before their bonds are reduced. This cooling period provides an opportunity for others to complete any remaining Darknode challenges.

Shards

Darknodes are randomly given to Shards. These shards can operate with more security and speed because of their smaller size compared to the entire network. Additionally, all shards can operate at the same time and act independently.

At least 100 Darknodes will be included in each shard, and shards will be swapped out at random once each day to repel attacks.  

Since an attacker must collaborate with a large number of Darknodes to corrupt any shard, it wastes a lot of their time and makes it harder for them, essentially boosting security.

Ren Team

Taiyang Zhang – Co-Founder and CEO

Taiyang Zhang is the founder of Ren, an open protocol that enables value to be moved between different blockchains. In addition to holding a bachelor’s degree from The Australian National University, he is the founder of the KeeperDAO project.

Zhang is a successful entrepreneur who has built a solid business foundation. Before creating Ren, he co-founded Neucode, a software development company, with Loong Wang who is now Ren’s Chief Technology Officer.

Loong Wang – Co-Founder and CTO

Loong Wang is Ren’s Chief Technology Officer and co-founder. He is responsible for the company’s technological development.

Loong previously worked as Neucode’s Lead Software Developer. He decided to further his studies at The Australian National University. He has extensive expertise in Distributed Systems, SQL, Java, Haskell, and Concurrent Computing, among other things.

Loong presented a novel programming language at the 22nd International Workshop on High-level Parallel Programming Models and Supportive Environments, which took place in May. 

He researched the Chapel programming language in cooperation with Cray Inc., which was later licensed to Cray. Among the enhancements made throughout the research were experimental modifications to make the language, which was created for supercomputers, more efficient and ergonomic to operate on.

Ren Investors and Backers

Ren Tokenomics

Conclusion

Hopefully, you have a better idea of what Ren is and its overall potential. It’s an amazing project with large but achievable goals. We think it’s worth giving a shot considering that it introduces a lot of features like Darknodes and OTCs which greatly increase its overall value.

We hope this information will help you in your investment process, but this is not investment advice. Every investment carries risk, especially in this industry, so DYOR before making a decision.

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