What Is Moonriver (MOVR)?

Moonriver (MOVR) is a sister network of Moonbeam that aims to provide an environment to test new blockchain code under real economic conditions. Moonbeam is an Ethereum-compatible smart-contract parachain (individual blockchains running in parallel within the Polkadot ecosystem) in the Polkadot ecosystem. Moonbeam allows developers to port their projects with minimal to no code changes, enabling them to tap into the Polkadot ecosystem. 

The Moonriver network is deployed as a parachain to Kusama and aims to serve as a canary network for Moonbeam. In this system, the new code ships to Moonriver first, where the code can be tested and verified. The same code ships to Moonbeam on the Polkadot after being verified. Moonriver aims to minimize the changes required to run existing smart contracts on the network by mirroring Ethereum’s Web3 Remote Procedure Call (RPC), accounts, keys, subscriptions, logs, and more. RPC is a software communication protocol used by one program to request a service from another network’s program located in another computer without understanding the network details. Moonriver aims to have a full Ethereum-like environment and work with industry-standard Ethereum tools, DApps, and protocols. 

MOVR is the utility token of the Moonriver network. Some of the uses of the MOVR token on Moonriver include:

• Supporting the gas (fee for validation transaction on Ethereum) metering of smart contract execution. A gas meter is a tool designed to give a quick overview of the current Ethereum network traffic in the app home screen.

• Rewarding collators and powering the mechanics around the creation of a decentralized node infrastructure on which the platform can run

• Facilitating the on-chain governance mechanism, including electing council members, proposing referenda, voting, etc.

• Paying for transaction fees on the network

Moonriver aims to handle the transactions and smart contract execution fee in two ways. The network aims to burn (the process of token removal from circulation to reduce the coins in use) 80% of the spent fee, which acts as a deflationary force and accrues value to existing MOVR holders based on increased utilization of the network. Moonriver aims to send 20% of the spent fees to the on-chain treasury that can be allocated via on-chain governance to initiatives and projects for further engagement and adoption with the network.

History of Moonriver (MOVR)

Moonriver was built and funded by the Moonbeam Foundation. Derek Yoo is the CEO and founder, and Stefan Mehlhorn is the COO. Derek Yoo is the cofounder of Thinking Phone Networks and previously served as a product manager at BladeLogic, the enterprise data center automation and server configuration management software provider. Stefan Mehlhorn attended the Chemnitz University of Technology. The Moonriver network was deployed to Kusama in June 2021. The maximum total supply of MOVR is 10 million.

How Are New Moonriver (MOVR) Tokens Created & Staked?

The Moonriver network uses a delegated proof-of-stake network where users of the network can delegate collator candidates to produce blocks and earn rewards. Moonriver uses the Nimbus framework (framework for deploying and testing Java serverless applications) for parachain consensus. Currently, the network has an active set of 64 collators. The main purpose of a collator includes block production and supporting block aliveness on the network. Moonriver aims to have the number of candidates in the active set subject to governance. The network aims to have the candidates by stake, including delegations in the active set. 

Moonriver targets a 5% annual inflation rate with the purpose to pay for the ongoing security needs of the network. Out of the 5% inflation on Moonriver, 1% goes towards rewarding collators, and 1.5% goes to the bond reserve of the parachain for on-chain funds accumulation to pay for a parachain slot in perpetuity. The remaining 2.5% goes to users that stake their MOVR tokens and help power the collator selection process.