.@renprotocol just launched on mainnet.
It’s one of the most underrated projects in DeFi
REN allows BTC, BCH and ZEC to be used trustlessly on Ethereum.
And unlike other trustless BTC token projects, Ren works today.
A thread :
1/ Ren started life as Republic Protocol, a project focused on private, cross-chain trading for BTC and ETH/ERC20 tokens.
Dark pool trading is common in financial markets, and Republic focused on bringing it to crypto, along with cross-chain order capability.
2/ As they developed Republic, the team realized that the private, cross-chain order technology could be expanded to smart contract interactions, making #RenVM much more versatile.
Republic was rebranded to Ren Protocol in 2019 to reflect this change.
3/ Ren has a network of “Darknodes” running the Ren Virtual Machine(RenVM), using a BFT(Tendermint) consensus algorithm.
RenVM uses Secure MultiParty Computation so Darknodes can perform messaging and computation without knowing the contents of the transactions.
4/ How does RenVM allow cross-chain interactions?
RenVM is a 3rd party between users and blockchains. It holds keys to each chain it interacts with ( #BTC, #ETH, #BCH and #ZEC).
As a distributed BFT network, it is a relatively decentralized and trustless custodian
5/ You can send BTC to RenVM to mint RenBTC, an ERC20 Token that can interact with #Ethereum smart contracts.
This renBTC can then be transferred back to real #BTC anytime by burning it.
This all happens automatically on a BFT Network. You’re not trusting any single party.
6/ Cool App: RenBridge
Deposit BTC, BCH, or ZEC and and mint an #ERC20 token representation.
At any time, you can withdraw those token back to real BTC, BCH, or ZEC.
This all happens in an automated and trustless manner.
bridge.renproject.io
7/ WBTC.cafe is another cool Dapp running on REN.
Here you can turn WBTC into real BTC, or turn BTC into WBTC, trustlessly.
Pretty neat!
8/ If you want to trade RenBTC against WBTC, you can do so at curve.fi
9/ Ren is a super cool, cross-chain protocol that works today.
Its biggest challenge/opportunity is integration partners.
If @MakerDAO, @AaveAave or @Compound supports it, or if someone builds a cross-chain Uniswap, it could transform DeFi.
Will it happen? We’ll see!
As this thread is blowing up a bit, a disclaimer:
This is my perspective of the functionality of REN Protocol as a user.
It is not an endorsement of REN token, which I have not looked at or analyzed.
DYOR.
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