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What Is Ravencoin?

Ravencoin (ticker RVN) is a layer 1 proof-of-work blockchain designed for one job: letting anyone create and transfer digital assets directly on chain. It is a code fork of Bitcoin, modified so that issuing a token, a security-style asset, or a unique collectible is a built-in protocol feature rather than something bolted on through smart contracts. The project takes its name from the ravens of Westeros in Game of Thrones, which carry messages, just as the network carries statements of ownership.

Ravencoin launched on January 3, 2018, the ninth anniversary of Bitcoin's genesis block, and is known for its deliberately fair launch: there was no premine, no ICO, and no coins set aside for founders or developers. Everyone, including the development team, had to mine or buy RVN like anyone else. The whitepaper was co-authored by Bruce Fenton, a longtime Bitcoin community figure and former Bitcoin Foundation executive director, Tron Black, the project's lead developer, and Joel Weight, a technology executive at Overstock.com. Early development was supported by Medici Ventures, the blockchain subsidiary of Overstock.com, where Black worked; Fenton served on the boards of Medici Ventures and tZERO. In 2021 Black became president of the community-run Ravencoin Foundation, which now stewards the open-source project.

Because Ravencoin started from Bitcoin's codebase, its design feels familiar: a UTXO model, proof-of-work mining, and a fixed supply schedule. The key changes are a one-minute block time (versus Bitcoin's ten minutes), a 21 billion coin maximum supply (a thousand times Bitcoin's 21 million), and a mining algorithm chosen to resist ASICs. Ravencoin originally used X16R, which shuffled the order of sixteen hash functions based on the previous block's hash. When ASICs caught up, the network switched to X16RV2 in 2019 and then to KAWPOW, a derivative of ProgPoW, in May 2020. KAWPOW is designed to use the full capability of ordinary consumer GPUs so that home miners can compete on roughly equal footing with specialized hardware.

The asset layer is what sets Ravencoin apart. Anyone can create a uniquely named asset by burning 500 RVN, which permanently reserves that name on the network. Sub-assets cost 100 RVN and unique assets, useful for one-of-a-kind items like collectibles or serialized goods, cost 5 RVN. Issuers choose how many units to create, how divisible they are, and whether more can be issued later, and they can attach metadata through IPFS hashes. The protocol also supports restricted assets and address tagging, features aimed at issuers of regulated instruments who need to control who can hold a token. Once created, assets transfer peer to peer with the same simplicity as sending RVN itself.

RVN is the network's native currency. It pays transaction fees, rewards miners who secure the chain, and is burned to create assets, which ties demand for asset issuance directly to the coin. The emission schedule mirrors Bitcoin's at a larger scale: blocks initially paid 5,000 RVN, and the reward halves every 2,100,000 blocks, roughly every four years. The first halving in January 2022 cut the reward to 2,500 RVN, and the second halving in January 2026 cut it to 1,250 RVN per block.

Ravencoin's history includes one significant security incident. In July 2020 attackers exploited a vulnerability introduced through a community code contribution to mint about 315 million RVN outside the normal block reward, roughly 1.5 percent of the maximum supply. The bug was quickly patched, but because the counterfeit coins had been deposited on an exchange and mixed with legitimate funds, they could not be cleanly burned without harming innocent holders, so the network absorbed the extra supply. The episode is a reminder that even conservative, Bitcoin-derived codebases carry risk when modified.

Getting Started With Ravencoin

Getting started with Ravencoin usually means holding RVN, issuing an asset, or mining with a GPU:

  1. Step 1: Download a wallet. Ravencoin Core is the full-featured official desktop wallet, and lighter mobile options are available.
  2. Step 2: Acquire RVN on an exchange or an instant-swap service and withdraw it to your own wallet.
  3. Step 3: Explore the asset layer. With 500 RVN you can create your own named asset directly from Ravencoin Core, or browse existing assets with an asset explorer.
  4. Step 4: If you have a gaming-class GPU, consider mining. KAWPOW was designed for consumer graphics cards, and joining a mining pool is the easiest way to start.

How to Get a Ravencoin Wallet?

RVN runs on its own blockchain, so you need a wallet that supports the Ravencoin network specifically.

Ravencoin Core

Ravencoin Core is the official open-source desktop wallet, available from the project's GitHub. It runs a full node and is the only wallet that exposes the complete asset feature set, including creating, reissuing, and managing assets.

Mobile Wallets

For everyday holdings, multi-coin mobile wallets such as Trust Wallet support RVN, and the community maintains mobile wallets focused on Ravencoin and its assets. Mobile wallets trade some functionality for convenience, so check asset support before relying on one for issued tokens.

Ledger Hardware Wallets

Ledger devices support RVN, letting you keep your private keys offline. A hardware wallet is the recommended choice for larger balances or long-term storage.

Ravencoin Resources

How to Buy Ravencoin?

RVN has been listed on major exchanges since 2018 and is widely available.

Centralized Exchanges

RVN trades on large centralized exchanges including Binance, KuCoin, Gate, HTX, OKX, and Upbit, typically against USDT or BTC. After buying, withdraw your coins to a wallet you control.

Non-Custodial Swap Services

Because Ravencoin is its own proof-of-work chain without smart contracts, there are no native DEXes in the Ethereum sense. The project's website instead points to non-custodial instant-swap services such as SimpleSwap and StealthEX, which let you exchange other cryptocurrencies for RVN without creating an account or giving up custody.

Latest Ravencoin News

The biggest recent event was Ravencoin's second halving in January 2026 at block 4,200,000, which reduced the block reward from 2,500 to 1,250 RVN and cut the rate of new supply in half. As with Bitcoin, halvings are watched closely by miners, whose revenue per block drops overnight, and by holders, who see the network move further along its fixed emission schedule toward the 21 billion cap.

Development continues as a volunteer-driven open-source effort coordinated through the Ravencoin Foundation and the project's GitHub, with ongoing interest in the network as a simple, fair-launched platform for tokenizing real-world assets. Because exchange listings, wallet support, and network parameters change over time, the official website and GitHub repository are the best sources for the current state of the project.