Ravencoin is a peer-to-peer blockchain network that allows users to transfer assets from one party to another. Based on the unspent transaction output (UTXO) model of the Bitcoin protocol, Ravencoin is a Bitcoin fork.
To create the first open-source, decentralized blockchain specifically designed to handle digital asset transfer, Ravencoin was formed to enable users to create their own tokens and trade them anywhere globally within a few minutes. This allows users to create and transfer tokens with real-world use cases, including assets like securities, collectibles, gold, event tickets, etc.
While any token can be created using Ravencoin, all the tokens created are designed to be used as a means of transferring value between different users. Like Bitcoin, Ravencoin is a Proof of Work (PoW) blockchain that depends on validators to solve complicated cryptographic problems to validate transactions on the blockchain and secure the blockchain. Validators add blocks of valid transactions to the blockchain and get rewarded for their work in RVN tokens.
However, it has significantly improved its block size, block time, and rewards compared to Bitcoin. Ravencoin is also designed to primarily be a token-issuing blockchain for creating and issuing tokens, unlike Bitcoin, which is intended to be a digital currency. Ravencoin securely records transactions on its blockchain. As a free and open-source network, a copy of its transactions is maintained by members of the Ravencoin network. Therefore, all miners and nodes have a copy of Ravencoin blocks and the transactions.
The average size of a Ravencoin block is 0.87 KB out of a total available 2MB, compared to Bitcoin's fixed size of 1MB. However, the 2MB block size is not rigid and can be increased to allow for more on-chain transactions as the network scales. This enables the Ravencoin blockchain to accommodate transaction volume changes based on demand.
On average, a new block is created every minute, which is drastically lower than Bitcoin's 10-minute block time, and block rewards will be halved every 2,100,000 blocks, which takes approximately four years as the network scales. Currently, the block reward is 2,500 RVN.
Leveraging its own KawPoW consensus mechanism ensures that mining on the network is ASIC-resistant and egalitarian. Ravencoin focuses on the creation and transfer of tokens with real-world use cases that can be in any form conceivable by the users. Assets, sub-assets, and unique tokens allow messaging and voting on the network.
RVN is Ravencoin's native currency used to pay transaction fees, reward miners for securing the network, and pay dividends to token holders. With a single command, the reward, denominated in RVN, is automatically divided evenly and sent pro-rata to the asset holders. RVN can also be used to transfer value, just like Bitcoin or fiat currency.
RVN developments
Following the Ethereum Merge, many former Ethereum miners have moved to the Ravencoin blockchain to continue mining RVN tokens. The Merge saw Ethereum transition from a PoW blockchain to a Proof of Stake (PoS) blockchain. The switch means that Ethereum no longer needs miners and their mining equipment to function as network validators and secure the network. The miners have therefore moved to other PoW blockchains, with Ravencoin being one of the most popular destinations.
In August 2022, it was announced that Ravencoin was fully integrated with the crypto marketplace Guardarian. Guardarian provides direct fiat-to-crypto services for crypto investors. Users can now purchase RVN directly with fiat using credit or debit cards and a wide array of fiat currencies worldwide.
RVN price and tokenomics
The tokenomics of the Ravencoin blockchain is very similar to that of Bitcoin. Like Bitcoin, there was no pre-mining process or initial coin offering (ICO) for RVN tokens. Instead, all the tokens are released to the public through the mining process fairly and democratically since anyone can become a network validator and receive RVN tokens for validating transactions on the blockchains.
About 11.6 billion RVN tokens are in circulation out of the 21 billion RVN tokens, which is the maximum for the Ravencoin blockchain. The remaining 9.4 billion RVN tokens will be released to RVN miners in a steadily decreasing amount over time. Like Bitcoin, Ravencoin is designed to have a block-halving event once every four years.
RVN is a deflationary token, unlike Bitcoin. To create and issue a new token on the Ravencoin blockchain, the issuer has to burn a certain amount of RVN tokens. The burned tokens are permanently destroyed, reducing the RVN available.
RVN tokens are primarily burned to maintain the issuance rate for token assets on the Ravenchain, to create restricted assets to satisfy regulatory requirements, and to generate fees for asset transfers.RVN price is determined by several factors, including broader market conditions that are out of Ravencoin's control. As Ravencoin charts show, Ravencoin price tends to fluctuate but generally trends down when the market is trending down and trends up when the market is trending up.
About the founders
Ravencoin was founded in 2018 by Bruce Fenton, Joel Weight, and Tron Black. Before founding Ravencoin, Fenton had an impressive career in investment banking and was the Vice President of Morgan Stanley. He has also been a board member and executive director of the Bitcoin Foundation.
Weight is the CTO of Overstock.com, the parent company of Medici Ventures that launched the Ravencoin blockchain. He is also a software developer with a career that takes him back to the dot-com bubble. Black has been the CEO of several software development companies. He has worked on several crypto ventures, including co-founder of CoinCPA and Verified Wallet and senior software developer at t0.com. In addition, he was the principal software developer at Medici Ventures.
