What is Ravencoin (RVN)? How Does It Work?

If there are many crypto projects around the world, one of the projects that might make you curious is Ravencoin. Ravencoin is a platform used for transferring assets from one holder to another using the UTOX model of Bitcoin.

The most interesting thing about this project is that it’s free and open source. Anyone can participate in this platform. There are several uses of Ravencoin such as mining rewards, mint NFTs, creating unique tokens, and more. 

What is Ravencoin (RVN)?

Ravencoin is a peer-to-peer blockchain that was built with a fork of the Bitcoin code. It was launched in 2018 by businessman Bruce Fenton and developer Tron Black.

Forking simply means splitting the blockchain technology or system within a cryptocurrency network, and causing a divergence in the pathway that will then govern how the crypto runs on the blockchain.

In this case, the developers of Ravencoin are not creating a new blockchain from scratch, but building on top of the Bitcoin codebase.

Ravencoin is designed to be used as a use case specific blockchain to declare ownership of any digital asset. It also has the ability to create tokens on top of the Ravencoin blockchain. The tokens are transferable and have the same ease as Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies.

What is crypto forking?

In context of crypto and blockchain, forking refers to the process of splitting an existing blockchain network, into its own separate branch with its own independent rules that govern the way the network operates.

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Further Reading: What Does Forking Cryptocurrency Mean?

Ravencoin vs Bitcoin

Now that we know Ravencoin is a fork of Bitcoin, what are some of the differences between the two? Based Based on the Ravencoin whitepaper there are four differences between Ravencoin and Bitcoin:

• First, we can see from the issuance schedule. Ravencoin mining rewards began at 5,000 RVN whereas Bitcoin started with 50 BTC. 

• Second, the block time for Ravencoin is one minute, compared to 10 minutes on Bitcoin. This means that Ravencoin transactions confirm up to four times faster than those of Bitcoin. 

• Third, the total coin supply for Ravencoin is also much larger than Bitcoin at 21 billion (2100 trillion) as opposed to 21 million for Bitcoins. 

• Lastly, the mining algorithm used by Bitcoin is SHA-256 whereas Ravencoin uses X16R at the first and now changed to KAWPOW – which is ASIC resistant. 

Category	Ravecoin	Bitcoin
Issuance Schedule	5,000 RVN	50 BTC
Block Time	1 minute	10 minute
Total Coin Supply	21 Billion	21 Million
Mining Algorithm	KAWPOW	SHA-256

Ravencoin Tokenomics

Ravencoin was launched in 2018 along with its RVN token. The token was launched without pre-sale or ICO—there was no funding goal, and no coins were sold prior to the network going live. Also, there is no private, public, founder, or developer allocation set aside. 

This creates a fairer, more democratic system than some other cryptocurrencies with similar features have used in their development. The goal of the project is to build a blockchain platform for the transfer of assets from one party to another. 

This allows Ravencoin to have interesting applications outside of simply acting as a store of value or medium of exchange, and the Ravencoin team has taken full advantage of this by creating an ecosystem for its token around the concept of transferring assets.

Read more: What are ICOs? Initial Coin Offerings Explained.

How Does Ravencoin Work?

Ravencoin has its own unique network, assets and protocols. It uses a variation of the Proof-of-Work consensus mechanism called KAWPOW. 

Before using KAWPOW, they used the X16R hashing algorithm. Since X16R no longer serves its purpose as the ASIC-resistance. Then, Ravencoin introduced a new hashing algorithm known as KAWPOW in May 2020. 

This algorithm secures the protocol, validates transactions, and distributes newly mined RVN across a network of computers running the Ravencoin software. It’s a pretty simple concept for each solution to the KAWPOW algorithm, miners are given RVN as a reward. 

The faster and more efficiently you can process KAWPOW solutions, the more RVN you will be rewarded with.

In this way, everyone who participates in securing and verifying transactions on the Ravencoin blockchain can be rewarded for doing so.

Ravencoin Use Cases

Mining Reward

The Ravencoin blockchain creates new coins through the process of mining. Mining refers to the act of verifying transactions on the blockchain and adding them to its ledger (blockchain). 

Miners are rewarded with newly created RVN coins when they verify transactions and add them to the blockchain. The current block reward for miners is 2500 RVN.

This means that, on average, miners earn 2500 RVN for every valid block added to the blockchain. However, just like Bitcoin, Ravencoin’s block rewards are always halved every four years. 

Related: What is Bitcoin mining?

Asset Issuance and Transfer

A unique feature of Ravencoin is that anyone can create their own token on the blockchain. This is the same as that of any ERC20 tokens built on the Ethereum blockchain or other blockchains that support smart contracts. 

However, a common problem with smart contracts is their inability to protect against identical names. There are multiple ERC20 tokens with identical names, which can cause confusion for users.

Ravencoin is trying to solve this problem with their system. The first to issue a token with a given name is the owner of that project. It will deter anyone from stealing someone else’s idea and creating a new token with the same name, thus avoiding confusion among users.

Additionally, Raven allows users to create their own purpose and rules on their token. It’s a limited quantity of a unique symbol, and transferable to any Ravecoin address. The assets are available on some platforms such as Open Assets, Mastercoin, and Counterparty.

What is an ERC-20 token? 

In short, these are simply tokens that are used on the Ethereum blockchain and act as assets that facilitate the various utilities and functions on the network. Learn more with our guide.

Minting NFTs

The Ravencoin network has been used to create many different types of assets, including tokens for non-fungible tokens (NFTs). 

If you want to mint your NFTs, you have to register to RVNFT. It’s a place where you can sell and buy NFTs just like OpenSea. It also provides consultation services for artists who want to create their own NFTs.

New to NFTs? Read our intro on NFTs.

Messaging Stakeholders and Voting Features

As a token issuer, the ability to communicate with your token holders is essential. It’s important to remember that not every token holder wants to be identified, so it is important to design the communications in such a way that they can opt-out of receiving messages at any time.

The messaging system of Ravencoin is an effective way to facilitate communication and coordination among members of an organization or community.

However, if the messaging system is open to all participants, it functions primarily as a conduit for spam. 

In order to prevent this from happening, only specific parties should be able to send messages through the messaging channel.

This system also can be used for a variety of purposes, but one of the most popular is to facilitate voting. The Ravencoin protocol allows anyone to build a messaging system that can be used to send notifications or ballots to shareholders or voters. This system also gives the holders of the token the notification of the vote. 

Projects that Use Ravencoin

Ravencoin has already begun to create new business opportunities for people who want to participate in the cryptocurrency ecosystem—like Vinsent Wine Marketplace.

They offer wine futures and early access to fine wines before they are made available to the public. 

Vinsent offers an extensive selection of wine from renowned wineries such as Dauntless Wine, Conti Caponi, and Château Palmer. Moreover, clients and app users can pay with cryptocurrencies for their favorite drinks.

How to Buy Ravencoin in South Africa?

Now that you have an idea of what Ravencoin is, its underlying technology, and applications, what are your own thoughts on RVN?

It’s safe to say that Ravencoin plays a key role in the crypto ecosystem, providing an alternative, and arguably more affordable solution for the utilities that it provides.

With Easy Crypto South Africa, we make it easy for you to buy, sell and exchange a wide range of crypto assets – including Ravencoin (RVN). We are a non-custodial exchange, and send your crypto purchases directly to your crypto wallet.

Invest in Ravencoin: Buy RVN with Easy Crypto ZA.

Ravencoin (RVN) is just one of hundreds of crypto assets that we provide here at Easy Crypto. Our collection also includes:

• Stablecoins
• NFT Tokens
• Metaverse Tokens
• DEX (Decentralised Exchanges)
• DeFi (Decentralised Finance)
• And many more.

Check the rates: Use the crypto converter tool to view the latest rates for RVN.

Pro tip: you can preview the conversion rates for Ravencoin (RVN) or any other crypto in our collection by going to our complete list of crypto assets.

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