What Is Moonriver (MOVR): DotSama’s Undervalued Ethereum Compatible Blockchain

What is Moonriver? How does it work? These and other questions are popular queries now, as more people seek to discover the network and its features. Some people have heard of Moonriver because they’ve discovered apps or NFTs that the blockchain supports. This article answers common questions about Moonriver, including how the network functions. Learn more about Moonriver's potential, get a breakdown of MOVR token allocation, discover comparative information about other parachains, and read about predictions for the future.

By learning this important information about Moonriver, it will ultimately make it easier to decide if MOVR tokens and Moonriver is a good investment for the long run.

What Is Moonriver?

Moonriver is a parachain on the Kusama network for crypto projects to expand their reach with a multi-chain design. The Moonriver parachain is compatible with the Ethereum developer network and toolchain. 

Moonriver was developed by the Moonbeam Foundation, and PureStake is the entity behind the Moonbeam Foundation. A parachain on the Kusama network is a customized blockchain that connects to the Relay Chain, which handles transaction settlements, consensus and security. Since the parachain is connected, it shares the benefits afforded by Kusama through the Relay Chain.Moonriver has a crypto token, MOVR, which it distributes for several purposes. The Moonriver parachain functions as a smart contract platform, providing developers less friction for redeploying Ethereum decentralized apps without reconfiguring or rewriting for Karura. The Moonbeam Foundation also created a platform that it launched on the Polkadot system in 2021, which is similar to Kusama. Collectively, the two chains are referred to as “DotSama.” The Moonriver parachain is a canary network for Moonbeam. Developers can test code and perform verification on Moonriver before they deploy it on Moonbeam.

Moonriver's Potential Explained

There are certainly other Kusama parachains, so what makes Moonriver special? It has great potential in several ways:

• Moonriver's fully diluted valuation is several times higher than that of Karura.

• The number of addresses on Moonriver has been increasing faster than on most other parachains.

• Transaction volume recently surpassed that of competing networks.

• Recent deployments Zenlink and SushiSwap brought considerable TVL growth.

• There are a significant number of available MOVR liquidity incentives.

• At the end of 2021, Moonriver had $375 million TVL, and growth is expected to continue as lending protocols are developed.

In addition to the above points, Moonriver's potential is evident in community growth. For projects that desire TVL, a growing community is especially attractive. There were nearly 200,000 participants in the Moonbeam crowd loan, which brought in $35 million DOT. Because of these factors, Moonriver is a top choice for Kusama projects. Moonriver affords the security benefits of Kusama, and developers enjoy the familiarity its execution environment offers.

Moonriver Vs. Moonbeam

Both projects were designed to boost participation and inspire innovation on the Polkadot blockchain. But what makes Moonriver different from Moonbeam? Moonriver is a testnet with incentives that operates on Kusama, and Moonbeam is a mainnet that operates on Polkadot. Developers can build, test and modify protocols on Moonriver before they ever deploy them. Since Kusama parachains aren’t always stable, this is a great benefit.

Moonbeam was the Polkadot system's first operational parachain, and the community gave it the “parachain” title after deciding that it was vital to the main network. Since Moonbeam has the shared security of Polkadot, it offers some security benefits that are especially attractive to developers. However, the governance system is slower than Moonriver's system. For instance, voting periods for Moonriver are usually about five days, and staking typically takes less than a couple of hours. With Moonbeam, the regular voting period is usually two weeks. The excellent performance of Moonriver, as well as its community and speed, have made it a top choice for many projects.

What Are MOVR Tokens?

MOVR tokens are Moonriver's utility tokens. Since Moonriver is a decentralized platform, it requires these tokens to continue working. The following are some use cases for MOVR tokens:

• Paying for network transaction fees

• Gas metering for smart contracts on the network

• Facilitating on-chain governance activities

• Powering mechanics and incentivizing collators to create infrastructure on the network

MOVR Tokenomics

The annual inflation rate for Moonriver is 5%, and the MOVR token supply is uncapped. Inflation helps pay for the parachain's continued security needs. For the MOVR token inflation percentage, 1.5% of the supply is for a continuous parachain slot through accumulated funds that go into the parachain bond reserve. Another 1% of the inflation is for collator incentives. Additionally, 2.5% of the inflation amount is for users who stake MOVR tokens and facilitate collator selection.

At the time of the network's launch, there were 10 million Moonriver crypto tokens in circulation. Some of the MOVR tokens remain reserved to keep Moonriver active on the Kusama network. The creator of Moonriver crypto tokens, PureStake, doesn’t own any of the tokens. When it launched, Moonriver provided the following breakdown of its MOVR token allocation:

• 0.5% for the parachain bond reserve

• 0.5% for the treasury

• 4.5% to a program for developer adoption

• 24.5% for long-term network adoption and stewardship

• 30% to original parachain crowdloan

• 40% to parachain slot preservation and community initiatives

The MOVR token crowdloan share for contributors was necessary to achieve MOVR token distribution. For community initiatives and parachain slot reserve, Moonriver crypto tokens are delegated for strategic program rewards, liquidity incentives, Kusama network slot leases, and more. With long-term network adoption and stewardship, the Moonbeam Foundation distributes MOVR tokens for ecosystem development, grants and other necessities. The developer adoption program MOVR token supply includes matching funds for short-term platform or project adoption needs.

The MOVR token treasury includes on-chain managed funds, and spending is only permitted with on-chain governance. Ultimately, the goal is for the MOVR token reserve to maintain ample assets for continuously ensuring parachain slot security on the Kusama network.

Is Moonriver a Good Investment?

To determine if Moonriver is a good investment, it helps to understand its road map, in addition to considering the previous points in this blog. The main points in the current Moonriver road map include the following:

• During Q1 in 2021, Moonriver obtained its crowdloan and secured a spot on the Kusama network.

• Moonriver's five-phase launch process started during Q3 in 2021.

• Ecosystem deployments took place starting in Q3 of 2021 and are continuing throughout Q2 of 2022 and beyond.

• NFT, gaming and DeFi project deployments started in Q1 of 2022 and are continuing.

• Additional borrowing and lending project deployments started in Q1 of 2022 and are continuing.

What is Moonriver planning for the future? Two of its key focuses are community development and interoperability. Growing both Moonriver and Moonbeam ecosystems through partnerships and integrations is important to the team. With interoperability, XCM development is a top goal.

Moonriver's focus on decentralization, favorable governance and the other benefits it offers for users are some of the reasons why experts say it has good potential for future growth. Because tokens are not distributed among owners or sold as some other smart contract crypto tokens are sold, Moonriver has gained more attention and respect. The network has a healthy ecosystem with a wide range of applications, which indicates that it’s already growing quickly. Additionally, its road map and recent developments further demonstrate that it has achieved impressive growth since its launch.

MOVR Price Prediction

Assuming that Moonriver's market cap and DApp deployment rates continue growing steadily, price predictions are optimistic for the next several years. The forecasted prices include minimums, averages and maximums, and are based on prices of similar Layer 1 smart contract blockchains. 

According to some speculators, the forecasted price of MOVR is a minimum of $82.96 and a maximum of $95.47 for 2022. The forecasted average price of MOVR for 2022 is $88.36. The average 2022 price prediction is $99.00. For 2023, data projections show that MOVR will reach a minimum of $89.84 and a maximum of $108.66. The 2024 forecast calls for a minimum price of $82.71. In addition, the forecasted average is $106.57, and the predicted maximum price is $126.42. Finally, throughout 2025, the average forecasted MOVR price is $127.19. The prediction for the minimum price for MOVR in 2025 is $117.27, and the maximum predicted price is $150.03.

It’s difficult to determine the lowest price at any point to trade for Moonriver cryptocurrency. Keep in mind that this is not financial advice. Since data fluctuates, it helps to perform additional research before investing. To buy MOVR tokens, investors must have another major cryptocurrency that can be used to buy MOVR in pairs from an exchange.

The Bottom Line

Moonriver currently shows good long-term earning potential as DApps, NFTs and other projects continue using it. The parachain's efficient design and features add to its potential to see more growth. With the many advantages Moonriver offers, it’s likely to remain a competitive contender on DotSama. These favorable considerations are all good news for potential investors.