Render (RENDER) tokenomics

The Render Network (RENDER) token economics are primarily governed by the Burn Mint Equilibrium (BME) model, which was implemented following the network's migration to the Solana blockchain in November 2023. This model is designed to balance the supply and demand for GPU compute services on the network.

The token, originally an ERC-20 token named RNDR, was upgraded to an SPL token named RENDER on Solana at a 1:1 ratio. The total token supply across all networks as of December 24, 2024, is approximately 945.54 million.

Issuance Mechanism

The issuance mechanism for RENDER is tied to the Burn Mint Equilibrium (BME) model and a predefined emission schedule.

• Maximum Supply Increase: Following the launch on Solana and the implementation of the BME model, the maximum token supply was increased from approximately 536.87 million to 644.25 million RENDER.
• Emission Schedule: The additional ~107.38 million tokens are scheduled to be issued solely on Solana over a period of ten years and distributed as rewards.
  • Year 1 (2024) Emissions: Approximately 9.13 million RENDER were planned to be minted.
  • Year 2 (2025) Emissions: Approximately 5.90 million RENDER are scheduled to be minted.
• Minting Process (BME): The BME smart contracts manage the minting process. When creators burn RENDER tokens to pay for jobs, the BME contracts simultaneously mint an equivalent amount of RENDER that is then distributed to node operators as rewards.

Allocation Mechanism

The allocation of the newly emitted RENDER tokens is divided between the Render Network Foundation and network participants (Node Operators and Creators).

Allocation of Second-Year Emissions (2025)

For the second year of emissions (~5.90 million RENDER), the allocation is planned as follows:

Allocation of First-Year Emissions (2024)

Of the planned ~9.13 million RENDER emissions in the first year, the distribution included:

• Community Upgrade Rewards: ~1.14 million RENDER (~12.49% of first-year emissions) were distributed for upgrade incentives.
• Node Operator Payments: ~1.55 million RENDER were allocated.
• AI/Compute Client Incentives: ~0.54 million RENDER were distributed.
• Artist Grants: ~0.15 million RENDER were allocated.
• Render Foundation Accrual: ~4.57 million SPL RENDER (50.00% of first-year emissions) accrued to the Foundation.

Initial Token Allocation (Legacy RNDR)

The initial maximum token supply of ~536.87 million RNDR (ERC-20) had the following historical allocations:

• Public and Private Sales: ~134.22 million RNDR (~25.00% of the initial maximum supply) were sold.
• Render User Development Fund: ~348.97 million ERC-20 RNDR (~65.00% of the initial maximum supply) were controlled by the project team.
• Team and Advisors: ~10.00% of the initial maximum supply was allocated to team members and advisors.

Usage and Incentive Mechanism

The RENDER token serves as the core utility token for the network, facilitating the exchange of GPU compute power.

Usage Mechanism (Burn Mint Equilibrium - BME)

The BME model dictates how RENDER is used for services:

1. Payment: Creators and compute clients pay for rendering and AI computing jobs in RENDER. Job costs are priced in USD, and the requester deposits the equivalent amount of RENDER.
2. Burning: Once a job is completed, the network automatically deducts a 5.00% transaction fee before burning the equivalent USD value of the requester’s RENDER deposit.
3. Render Credits: The requester receives non-fungible and non-transferrable Render Credits as on-chain evidence of payment for completed jobs. These credits represent the USD value of the burned RENDER.

Incentive Mechanism

The network incentivizes participation through RENDER rewards:

• Node Operator Rewards: Node operators are rewarded in RENDER tokens for completing rendering and computing jobs. The BME smart contracts mint an equivalent amount of RENDER to the burned tokens, which is then distributed to node operators. For the second year of emissions, ~1.50 million RENDER are reserved for node operators, distributed at a rate of approximately 90,000 RENDER per month.
• Creator Rewards: Creators (Artists and AI Clients) receive rebates for the RENDER they expend to request services.
• Upgrade Incentives (Past): Tokenholders who swapped their legacy ERC-20 RNDR for SPL RENDER on Solana were eligible for upgrade rewards, with ~1.14 million RENDER set aside for this purpose in the first year of emissions.

Locking Mechanism and Unlocking Time

Information regarding the locking mechanism and unlocking time for the current RENDER token emissions (post-Solana migration) is limited to the following:

• Team and Advisor Lock-up (Legacy): The initial allocation of ERC-20 RNDR (~10.00% of the initial maximum supply) to team members and advisors was subject to a six-month lock-up.
• Bridging Mechanism: When bridging RNDR from Ethereum to RENDER on Solana via the Wormhole Bridge, the process involves a lockup/mint mechanism, where the origin tokens (RNDR) are locked on Ethereum to mint the destination tokens (RENDER) on Solana. This swap is one-way.

Detailed, ongoing vesting schedules or lock-up periods for the current RENDER emissions (the ~107.38 million tokens issued over ten years) were not explicitly available.