Great question and a great project to dive-in. Boil a cup of tea, bring some crackers and let’s start!What is REN?REN Is a formerRepublic Protocol
In a nutshell, the REN provides an open-source protocol for developing a distributed network of nodes to fulfill orders, without knowing anything about the orders. Once a match is found, an atomic swap is launched between two traders, peer-to-peer, no intermediaries involved.
According to the Republic Protocol’s whitepaper, the REN token has two functions.
1) Incentivizes node operators to match orders
2) To pay bonds to the Registrar, allowing traders and nodes to participate in the Republic Dark Pool.
(In simple words Dark pools are private exchanges where institutional investors can anonymously trade with big orders that are not accessible to the public)
Team
REN team is well-versed in development and finance.
For example, CEO Taiyang Zhang previously worked as a software engineer and a Quant fund manager.
Loong Wang the CTO has worked as a software developer at Neucode and has also dedicated numerous years as a researcher at the Australian National University.
Advisory board also looks reputable and legit:
Dorjee Sun: CEO, Perlin Network
Loi Luu: CEO, KyberNetwork
John Ng Pangilinan: Partner, Signum Capital
Prabhakar Reddy: Investor, Accell Partners
Anup Malani: Economics, University of Chicago
… and the sweetest part about REN is the investment funds backing the project.
Now Partnerships:
1) Wyre (blockchain remittance company, provides KYC integration and liquidity for REN)
2) TrueUSD (stablecoin of choice which will be integrated with RenEx)
3) BitGo (multisignature bitcoin wallet service)
4) Kyber network (instant and seamless transactions between platforms)REN is listed on top tier exchanges like Binance and Huobi
… So why has it skyrocketed?
There are 3 possible reasons for that:
1) Recent Development update. It touched significant parts of REN ecosystem: RenVM and Dark nodes.
2) Coinbase rumors. Members in a telegram chat and on forums discussing potential listing on Coinbase. Which is definitely unconfirmed but the buzz has been made already
3) Artificial pump. It’s a usual practice by projects (or it’s investors) to raise the awareness of the crowd and make them buy high.Both number 2 & 3 are unconfirmed so don’t fall into FOMO/FUD and DYOR.
What to expect further?
Let’s find an answer in a current (7/2/2019) Technical Analysis:
REN is dancing around a resistance level of 900 sat.
I expect a correction from this level. If a correction does not occur and REN closes on the daily candle, we can expect more upwards movement to 1100and 1200 sats accordingly
.… but remember, entering at the top is always risky. Don’t forget to put tight stop losses. (1–5%)
Wrapping things up
REN offers a great use case for a hybrid technology connecting blockchain technology with a traditional distributed system.
In my opinion, the project’s success will be determined by its security, ability to attract developers and providing a competitive trading and liquidity ecosystem to its users, at the same time maintaining high speed and lag-free experience.
Originally published at https://www.youjin.pro on July 2, 2019.