What is Radix (XRD)?

Radix (XRD) is a public ledger (also known as a layer 1 smart contract platform) designed to provide the user experience, developer experience, security, and scalability needed for mass adoption of Web3 and DeFi.

Radix has taken a radically different approach to any other blockchain. In fact, Radix isn’t even a blockchain, which is why it’s called Radix DLT, which stands for distributed ledger technology.

That radically different approach has resulted in what Radix calls its “Full Stack” – designed to solve the major problems holding back Web3 and DeFi mass adoption. This is similar to how Tesla had to go deeper in the “stack” than just the car and build a network of charging stations to allow electric cars to go mainstream.

Let’s explore the Radix Full Stack, the XRD token, and how you can buy XRD on Bitfinex!

The Radix Full Stack

The Radix Full Stack is composed of four key layers: The Radix Wallet, which is how users access the tokens and dApps on the Radix Network. The Scrypto programming language and Radix Engine execution environment, which is where developers can write smart contracts, and where those smart contracts execute. And Cerberus, Radix’s peer-reviewed consensus mechanism.

The Radix Wallet

The Radix Wallet has been built to offer users a far more intuitive and confident experience than is available elsewhere. 

Have you heard of wallet drains? Users in Web3 today regularly experience their tokens being drained from their wallet because they clicked the wrong link.

So after looking at everything. After I went to @MagicEden and connected my wallet. A scam NFT was dropped into my wallet which i had no interaction with and went directly to spam folders. After I burned that scam as I always do that is when the hacker was able to drain me for 7K…

— PeoplesMarket.Crypto (@Peoplesmarket87) January 22, 2024

The root cause of wallet drains is that tokens are not native on most blockchains today. Instead, tokens are smart contracts that can be injected with any sort of malicious functionality, and when a user signs a transaction, they sign the transaction blind, which is like signing a blank cheque. The user has no idea what they are signing because blind signing is required for most transactions. The user thinks they’re doing something like claiming an airdrop, but instead, the token has malicious code that is draining their wallet! 

The Radix Wallet solves the risk of this with native assets – so the Radix Network knows exactly how a token should behave. It’s not possible for a Radix developer to inject malicious code into one of Radix’s native assets. Second, all transactions on Radix are human-readable. So if you click on a malicious link, and think you’re claiming an airdrop, the wallet will actually tell you what you’re doing – which in this case is sending the hacker all your tokens. Most users would not approve such a transaction if it were presented to them in human-readable form. This transparency gives users far more confidence using Web3.

The Radix Wallet has loads more innovative features such as Smart Accounts, which will allow users to obsolete seed phrases. To learn more, see The Problem with Crypto Wallets Today.

Scrypto and Radix Engine

For developers, Radix’s Scrypto programming language and Radix Engine virtual machine allow developers to build  decentralised applications (DApps) far more quickly and more securely than other programming languages today.

This is because assets (tokens and NFTs) are native features of the programming environment. This is why Radix styles Scrypto an “asset-oriented” programming language. In addition to just assets, there are also a heap of other native features offered by the programming language, such as native role based access control, native permissioning tools called badges, and with all transaction accounting performed automatically by Radix Engine, this ensures that tokens can’t go lost or missing or double counted.  

These native primitives built into the programming language and execution environment mean that developers on Radix don’t need to build these things from scratch, as they do on other environments. This not only saves developers loads of time, because they now just configure things like how tokens should behave, but it also means that there isn’t room to make a mistake – because the token behavior is an intrinsic part of the core system. It’s not built by a smart contract developer (as you find on practically every other blockchain today).

This is similar to how game engines such as Unreal Engine offer game developers core primitives for graphics, gravity, and physics. Not only does it save those developers time, it reduces the chances for something to go wrong! This approach of using an “engine” makes Radix a far safer place to build complex financial DApps, something that all Web3 developers need given how many hacks there have been in recent years.

To learn more see The Problem with Smart Contracts Today

Scalability

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For scalability, Radix has developed Cerberus, a peer reviewed consensus algorithm that  employs a unique sharded data structure that will allow Radix to scale through parallel processing, overcoming the limitations of existing blockchain systems without compromising the composability of the Radix ledger. There is theoretically no limit to how many transactions Cerberus can process, and it has already demonstrated more than 1 million TPS in the lab.

Cerberus is implemented in its single sharded form today on Radix’s Babylon Mainnet. But in a future update, Radix’s ledger will be sharded, implementing the fully sharded form of Cerberus on mainnet.

To learn more about Cerberus, see Cerberus Consensus: Peer Reviewed

What is the Radix Ecosystem? 

Radix’s ecosystem is blossoming.

More than 15 dApps have already been deployed to mainnet since September 2023. This includes DEXes such as CaviarNine, Ociswap, DeFiPlaza, and Dexter.

Money market platforms such as WEFT and aggregators such as Astrolescent, and NFT marketplaces such as RadLand. Dashboards such as ShardSpace and atomic swaps from Trove. Prediction marketplaces such as DelphiBets and creator support dApps like Backeum, and launchpads such as Impahla.

To find out more about Radix, check out RadixEcosystem and RadixCharts.

What is the XRD Token? 

Radix’s own native token, XRD, is used for staking, and to pay transaction fees. Staking XRD helps secure the network and provides a mechanism for token holders to earn rewards. 

● Medium of Exchange – XRD acts as the primary medium of exchange within the Radix ecosystem. It is used for transaction payments and can be used within various DeFi applications built on the Radix platform. 

● Transaction Fees – Transactions on the Radix network require XRD tokens to pay for transaction fees. This ensures the smooth processing of transactions and helps to prevent spam or network abuse. 

● Staking and Network Security – XRD tokens are used in the staking mechanism of the Radix network. Token holders can stake their XRD to secure the network. In return, stakers can receive rewards, often in the form of additional XRD tokens, as compensation for their contribution to network security and stability. Radix has a really innovative native staking system, so Radix doesn’t need third party providers such as Lido – the protocol itself issues you fully liquid staked tokens. 

To learn more about Radix tokenomics, see here.

How to buy XRD on Bitfinex 

How to buy XRD with crypto 

1. Log in to your Bitfinex account or sign up to create one. 

2. Go to the Deposit page. 

3. In the Cryptocurrencies section, choose the crypto you plan to buy XRD with and generate a deposit address on the Exchange wallet. 

4. Send the crypto to the generated deposit address. 

5. Once the funds arrive in your wallet, you can trade them for XRD. Learn how to trade on Bitfinex here.

How to buy XRD with fiat 

1. Log in to your Bitfinex account or sign up to create one. 

2. You need to get full verification to be able to deposit fiat to your Bitfinex account. Learn about different verification levels here. 

3. On the Deposit page, under the Bank Wire menu, choose the fiat currency of your deposit. There’s a minimum amount for fiat deposits on Bitfinex; learn more here. 4. Check your Bitfinex registered email for the wire details. 

5. Send the funds. 

6. Once the funds arrive in your wallet, you can use them to buy XRD. 

Also, we have Bitfinex on mobile, so you can easily buy XRD currency while on-the-go. [AppStore] [Google Play] 

XRD Community Channels Website | Twitter | Discord | Reddit | Github | Telegram | Youtube | Facebook | Medium

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