Introduction
This is the December 2021 update on the Ren Project as a result of my Ren ambassador role for the Coop. It follows updates in August , September, October, and November.
The Ren Project token ($REN) is part of the DeFi Pulse Index ($DPI) and Filecoin ($FIL) is represented in the DATA Index as $renFIL – a $FIL token wrapped using Ren Project blockchain bridging technology. As such, the Ren products are both represented and used in Index Coop products.
December was a big month for Ren with two major technical releases and also more community progress towards greater decentralisation, including a proposal to bootstrap a Ren DAO.
Host 2 Host release
December 1st, Ren announced Host 2 Host was live on Mainnet, connecting over a trillion dollars of assets by software contract. This advancement enables the RenVM to bridge assets, including ERC-20 and native L1 assets, between blockchains, such as L1, L2, and sidechains. So, for instance, a Solana asset can be placed on Arbitrum as an ERC-20, or Bitcoin on Fantom. You might, as they give as an example, end up with such tokens as rencrvRenWBTC that could be used as collateral for MIM.
There are challenges that must be worked through, including the public UI and the bootstrapping of liquidity. The UI for the RenBridge needs updating to reflect all the possibilities and third parties are encouraged to take part. An example of a third party integration is ZeroDAO being on the cusp of releasing a BTC to Arbitrum bridge interface.
The Ren community is also taking on the responsibility for whitelisting assets. Token whitelisting will take place on their forum and there are guidelines as well as more details of Ren’s new bridging possibilities in the Host 2 Host announcement blog.
[I am keen to see Index Coop products whitelisted for bridging but appreciate there should be engineering, BD, Growth, and Treasury input for greatest effect.]
Multi-chain swaps
Later in December, Ren’s multi-chain access combined with Varen Finance’s decentralised exchange for the release of the cross-chain swap dApp VarenX. On the DEX you can swap between such pairs as LUNA on the Terra network and Angle Protocol’s agEUR on Ethereum.
The partnership between Ren and Varen Finance is developing and the project is looking to include Host 2 Host to open up access to more chains and assets. More details of the first multi-chain swapping dApp powered by RenVM is in their blog VarenX integrates RenVM.
Governance
The Ren community continues to increase in activity. On the Ren Discourse forum, @MaxRoszko has declared that ‘the time to bootstrap a DAO is now’ in his post Governance Roadmap | Q1 2022. The post addresses how a DAO will help coordinate the many parts of the Ren ecosystem, such as the Core team, node operators, Ren Labs, and so on.
At present, the community has powers to set RenVM fees and choose listed assets but the vision is to bring core functions, such as protocol updates, under DAO coordination as well. Beyond this, there is recognition that a DAO can be much more than protocol governance and, once the treasury is more developed, the proposal includes plans for marketing, treasury growth strategies, and business development - negotiating deals with other DAOs.
Among the steps being taken towards becoming a DAO are the continued accrual of funds in the Community Ecosystem Fund (CEF) and the development of the Treasury Committee. The CEF’s funds will be spent on supporting projects using Ren technologies and growing the communities around them. These funds can be monitored on the Ren Darknode dashboard.
Closing
Overall, though well established, Ren is developing rapidly. They have many challenges to work through as they bring new developments to market, but they have an active technical team and a growing community with a strong commitment to developing themselves and the ecosystem around them further. Ren has finished the year well on its way to becoming a chain in its own right, layer 0 of a multichain future, as is their mandate. It will be interesting to follow and be a part of their 2022.
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I hope my interactions with Ren Project bring value to the Coop. I am glad to communicate with MaxRoszko, who is also on our forum, and to have been invited to their community calls. I will continue to update on Ren Project news and help inform the Coop when needed.
