Ren Protocol has launched RenVM, which transforms the assets of certain blockchains into ERC20 tokens useful for decentralized finance (DeFi).
The news is exciting: it is explained that RenVM is based on sMPC (similar to pTokens), a decentralized custodian that allows users to mint and burn assets pegged 1 to 1 on the Ethereum (ETH) blockchain as ERC20 tokens.
Interestingly, this platform, already online here, allows to mint 3 different crypto assets: Bitcoin (BTC), Bitcoin Cash (BCH) and Zcash (ZEC) via a single platform and with a quite simple procedure that is not too expensive in terms of fees (0.1%).
Moreover, these assets are ready for DeFi and can already be traded on some platforms like Uniswap and 1inch.
These are the tools developed by the Ren Protocol team:
- RenJS | A SDK that provides a customizable native cross-chain user experience in your App.
- GatewayJS | A simple JavaScript library SDK that provides a customizable native cross-chain user experience for your App.
- RenVM’s ERC20 | renBTC, renBCH and renZEC are ERC20s that can be added on the Ethereum-based dApp as with any other ERC20.
Mainnet contracts can be found here.
 As for the technical aspect, anyone can become a node of the Darknode network, having only a PC, some skills that can be learned online and 100 thousand REN (about 10 thousand dollars) to start earning from the fees that the system generates.
This is a big step for DeFi and the related blockchains involved that can now start using the protocol to interact with decentralized finance through RenVM.