What is Moonriver? (MOVR Explained)

In the blockchain world  fund security, platform efficiency, and a battle-tested smart contract is essential for users. Among these, the most important factor is smart contract. Any blockchain network relies on it. But the difficulty is, while developing these smart contracts and dapps, how can developers test them? That’s where Moonriver comes into play. 

Using Moonriver, developers can test these smart contracts for vulnerabilities, ensuring robust and secure operations. It is Moonbeam’s parallel network for smart contract development and testing. 

In this blog, let’s understand more about Moonriver.

What is Moonriver?

Moonriver, a layer 1 smart contract platform, serves as the missing link between Ethereum, Kusama, and Polkadot. It is a companion network to Moonbeam that offers a testnet that is consistently incentivized.

Before submitting code to Moonbeam and Polkadot, developers can test dApps on Moonriver under actual economic conditions. It uses industry-standard Ethereum tools, DApps, and protocols like Moonbeam. Ethereum expands by connecting Moonriver projects to Kusama and Polkadot.

It is the sister network of Moonbeam, just as Kusama is to Polkadot. Kusama and Moonriver may not appear to be valuable tokens to maintain, but they are critical to the Polkadot ecosystem and have many specialised use-cases. Which making them more than just a testnet.

It also boasts the highest market valuation and TVL among all Kusama parachains, and thousands of enthusiastic users await exciting new initiatives such as FantOHM. It is a leading parachain and future network in terms of quality, reach, and acceptance.

What is a MOVR token?

MOVR is Moonriver’s native utility token and serves as the backbone of the this network. Here are some key use cases for MOVR on the platform:

Gas Metering for Smart Contracts: MOVR makes it easier to execute smart contracts by acting as a gas and measuring and paying for computational resources.

Motivating Collators: MOVR tokens reward collators who help build and maintain the decentralised node infrastructure required for the platform’s operation.

On-Chain Governance: MOVR enables Moonriver governance. It allows referendums, voting, and council member elections, ensuring community-driven decision-making.

Transaction Fees: MOVR tokens are used to pay network transaction costs, making them an essential component of the ecosystem’s economic model.

History of  Moonriver 

Derek Yoo (the CEO and founder) and Steflan Mehlhorn (the COO) founded Moonriver, a Moonbeam Foundation network. Derek Yoo has a solid history in technology, having previously co-founded Thinking Phone Networks and worked as a product manager at BladeLogic, a firm that specialises in enterprise data centre automation and server configuration management software. 

It premiered on Kusama in June 2021. Moonriver has since given developers a solid testing ground for smart contracts and apps. It also became a key player in blockchain interoperability and decentralised technology development with this debut.

How does Moonriver work?

Moonriver offers a platform for testing new programmes under real-world economic conditions. It receives new code first, allowing it to be tested and confirmed. Once proven, the identical code is delivered to Moonbeam via Polkadot.

Although Moonriver and Moonbeam will share much of their codebase once they debut, Moonriver will continue to exist as a parachain on Kusama, with its own projects and specialised use cases.

Moonriver is a convenient route to the Kusama Relay Chain. It enables teams and developers acquainted with Ethereum to gain easy access to the Kusama Network. It reduces the adjustments needed to operate existing Solidity smart contracts on the network. As a result, Ethereum projects may easily copy their DApp and distribute it to Moonriver using common deployment tools.

Features of Moonriver

The same team that created Moonbeam also created Moonriver, ensuring that it had the same robust features. This makes it an ideal environment for testing protocols before they transition to Moonbeam. 

Here are some key features of Moonriver:

Parachain Consensus

It runs on the parachain level because collators collect user transactions and offer blocks to relay chain validators. This assures network efficiency and dependability.

Treasury

The Treasury holds funds on-chain. Each Moonriver network includes a community treasury for initiatives. Transaction fees subsidise this expansion, assuring the network’s continued development and improvement.

Cross-chain Integration

It lets developers interact with Polkadot chains to simplify smart contract use. The cross-chain message-passing (XCMP) protocol facilitates blockchain interoperability and collaboration.

ETH Compatibility

It can transfer some workloads and states off Ethereum Layer 1 without major adjustments. The shift is easier for developers because applications, contracts, and tools may stay the same.

Staking on Moonriver

It uses Polkadot’s collator-validator proof-of-stake model. Collators generate state transition proofs from transactions. They split block rewards with delegators and are picked according to their network stake, encouraging users to stake tokens and improving security.

Randomness

Verifiable random functions generate Moonriver’s on-chain randomization. Cryptographic functions like VRFs provide random values and authenticity, ensuring random output integrity.

Conclusion  

Moonriver is designed to attract Ethereum dApp developers by offering better scalability and lower fees without requiring any modifications to their existing dApps. It seamlessly facilitates these migrations, making the transition almost transparent for the end-user and promoting adoption.

It’s operational framework provides unique opportunities for users who wish to support the network. For instance, users can stake their tokens to support transaction validators on Moonriver and benefit from a user-friendly reward system.

In essence, Moonriver is a highly capable project with impressive potential. Its interoperability extends beyond Ethereum to any network connected to it, making it a significant cross-chain hub. Thus, It stands out as a powerful platform for users and developers.  For more information, visit the official website.