Radix (XRD) Price

XRD is the native token of the Radix Public Network. It is the network's base asset for staking and paying transaction fees, so it is connected both to securing the validator network and to having transactions processed. XRD was launched with the genesis of the Radix Public Network in July 2021. As the network-native asset, it differs from other tokens deployed on the network: the protocol incorporates it into the DPoS staking and fee mechanisms.

Users pay transaction fees in XRD when submitting transactions on the Radix Public Network. The main purpose of fees is to increase the cost of sending transactions in bulk for spam; 50% of the base network fee is burned by the protocol. Therefore, not all fees paid for a transaction become revenue for a participant: this half of the base network fee is permanently removed from supply. XRD may also be used by applications on the network, for example as collateral or as an intermediary for exchanging other tokens, but this concerns how the base asset is used at the application layer rather than a right automatically granted to all holders.

Staking XRD is the way holders indicate, through delegation, which validator nodes they want to participate in Radix DPoS consensus. The protocol currently forms its validator set from the 100 validator nodes with the highest delegated stake, so delegation affects whether a node can enter that set. Nodes that enter the set take on consensus duties; the network incentivizes stakers and validator node operators to remain involved through network emissions. The rewards here come from pre-planned network emissions, rather than interpreting “validators receive rewards” to mean that every transaction fee is transferred in full to stakers. This top-100 limit is the current rule. Official materials describe its removal as an anticipated change in the Xi'an release, so an unlimited number of validators cannot be treated as the current state already in effect.

XRD has a maximum supply of 24 billion tokens. Of this, 12 billion were issued at network genesis in July 2021; the remaining 12 billion have been designated as network emissions from genesis and are to be minted gradually over approximately 40 years, at a documented pace of about 300 million tokens per year. Network emissions are intended to incentivize XRD holders and validator node operators to secure the network through DPoS, rather than entering circulation all at once. Of the 12 billion issued at genesis, 9.6 billion are the unlocked portion, while a 2.4 billion stablecoin reserve is locked and excluded from circulating supply. The arrangement for this stablecoin reserve does not mean it has already been put into use: the Radix Foundation has 10 years to review and potentially use the reserve for a systemic stability mechanism; if it is not needed, the materials state that it will remain locked and be burned after that period.

XRD supply is affected by two mechanisms acting in opposite directions: network emissions and fee burning. Network emissions mint XRD gradually according to a predetermined schedule to reward stakers and validators, while 50% of the base network fee for transactions is burned. This does not mean burning automatically offsets emissions, or that supply must fall as transaction volume rises. The actual net change depends on the quantitative relationship in a given period between network emissions minted and base network fees burned, and these two figures come from different sources and use different calculation bases.