Ravencoin (RVN), which was launched on 3 January 2018, has seen a 122% price rise in the past seven days. In this article, we take a closer look at this project and examine some of the possible explanations for this strong performance.

The developers of Ravencoin describe it as “a protocol based on a fork of the Bitcoin code which adds features specifically focused on allowing tokens to be issued on the Ravencoin blockchain,” and such tokens “can have whatever properties the issue of the token decides – so they can be limited in quantity, named and be issued as securities or as collectibles.” This means that you can “make your own security token within minutes and have it trade worldwide.” The aim of the Ravencoin project is “to create a blockchain optimized specifically for the transfer of assets such as tokens from one holder to another.”

In case you are wondering how Ravencoin got its name, the following Game of Thrones reference is from a November 2017 post on Ravencoin’s official Medium blog:

“In the fictional world of Westeros, ravens are used as messengers who carry statements of truth. Ravencoin is a use case specific blockchain designed to carry statements of truth about who owns what assets.”

The following tweet gives some examples of tokens you might want to create using the Ravencoin blockchain:

Ravencoin’s code is different from Bitcoin in the following ways:

  • “The issuance schedule (block reward of 5,000 RVN)”
  • “Block time (1 minute)”
  • “Coin supply (21 Billion)”
  • “Mining algorithm (X16R)”

The X16R mining algorithm is “intended to address the centralization of mining caused by ASIC hardware,” and how it does this is explained below:

“… the fixed order of ordinary hashing algorithms lends itself to the construction of ASIC miners… However, the X16R algorithm aims to overcome this problem by constantly disrupting the ordering of the hashing algorithms – it uses the same algorithms used in X15 and SHA512, but the ordering of those algorithms is changed based on the hash of the previous block.”

The Ravencoin team says that the following characteristics make this project unique:

  • “ASIC resistant – Uses an X16R hashing algorithm to discourage the development of ASIC hardware”
  • “Fair launch – Everyone has equal opportunity to mine or purchase RVN since day one”
  • “No pre-mine, no ICO, and no coins held for developer or founders rewards”
  • “Community Driven, and True Open Source”

Ravencoin (RVN) is available on several cryptocurrency exchanges, including Bittrex (13 August 2018) and Binance (12 October 2018). 

So, what is behind the 122% increase in the RVN price from $0.010766 (February 25th, 10:00 UTC) to $0.023907 (March 4th, 10:00 UTC)?

One of Ravencoin’s many fans is Bruce Fenton, Managing Director and Chief Investment Officer Atlantic Financial Inc., as well as a board member of the Bitcoin Foundation. And these nice words about Ravencoin on February 27th could not have hurt:

Another famous fan seems to be Changpeng Zhao (“CZ”), the CEO of Binance:

The next day, February 28th, came the realization that if the Lightning Network protocol got implemented for Ravencoin, that could help with Ravencoin’s adoption:

And finally, we found out on March 2nd that crypto exchange Vertbase had decided to introduce a USD/RVN trading pair:

 

Featured Image Courtesy of Ravencoin