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What is RNDR?

RNDR is an ERC-20 token created by OTOY, the graphics company behind the OctaneRender engine, to pay for distributed GPU rendering. Artists submit jobs to the Render Network, idle GPUs owned by node operators do the work, and the token settles the exchange between the two sides.

The token this page describes is the Ethereum contract from the project's 2018 migration, which capped minting at 536,870,912 RNDR. Network operations have since moved: after proposal RNP-002 passed in 2023, the live token became RENDER on Solana, and the ERC-20 persists as an upgradeable predecessor.

How RNDR works

Render prices work through a burn-and-mint equilibrium adopted in governance proposal RNP-001. Creators burn tokens to pay for jobs, priced in dollar terms; the protocol separately mints a capped stream of new tokens each epoch to reward node operators and other participants, so burning and minting balance around network demand.

Since December 2023 those emissions run on Solana in RENDER. The Ethereum token no longer carries network functionality; what it retains is the one-for-one upgrade path into RENDER through the foundation's upgrade tool, which has been open since 2 November 2023.

RNDR supply and tokenomics

The 2017 sale offered tokens at $0.25 in October, followed by a private phase that ran into May 2018, and the 2018 migration fixed the ERC-20's ceiling at 536,870,912 tokens, two to the twenty-ninth power. Oversupply left on the original contract was earmarked for burning.

RENDER on Solana inherits that base but adds RNP-001's emissions, released on a declining schedule to node operators and liquidity providers, so the combined system is not hard-capped at the old ceiling. On the Ethereum side, the balance only shrinks as holders upgrade.

Who builds RNDR

OTOY was founded in 2008 by Jules Urbach, who still leads it, and built the Render Network as an outgrowth of its rendering software business. The Render Network Foundation, established in 2023, stewards governance, grants and ecosystem programs as an independent nonprofit.

The advisory orbit is unusually entertainment-heavy for a crypto project, reflecting OTOY's Hollywood client base, and the network's stated direction has expanded from rendering into artificial intelligence compute workloads.

How RNDR is governed

Changes go through Render Network Proposals, discussed publicly and put to token-holder votes; RNP-001 introduced the burn-and-mint model and RNP-002 approved the Solana migration in 2023. The foundation coordinates the process, and voting now happens with RENDER on Solana, so holders of the Ethereum token participate by upgrading first.

What people use RNDR for

For the Ethereum contract specifically, the practical uses have narrowed since the migration, and they now center on the bridge to the live network:

• Upgrade RNDR one for one into RENDER on Solana.
• Trade the ERC-20 on Ethereum venues that still list it.
• Hold pending upgrade; the path has stayed open since November 2023.

RNDR risks and considerations

Holding the legacy token is a bet on the upgrade path staying open and honored; the network's activity, emissions and governance all live on Solana now. The foundation has kept the upgrade available since November 2023, but the ERC-20 itself no longer earns, burns or votes anything.

Render's demand case rests on GPU work routed through one marketplace, in a field crowded with centralized render farms and cloud providers. Emissions on Solana add supply the Ethereum cap never contemplated, and liquidity has migrated with the ticker, thinning the ERC-20's markets over time.