Getting started with Ravencoin is pretty easy. But there are very few guides out there which are up to date and easy to follow for someone new to the technology.

Many people are now becoming interested in RVN due to the rise of the NFT market,this is because ultimately the Ravencoin chain offers the best solution for buyers and sellers.

That said, other chains do have certain advantages with which RVN still needs to catch up. Not least a proper NFT wallet, & more marketplaces. Letting one company have a monopoly on RVN’s NFTs like Opensea does with Eth would be undesirable.

In this post we’re going to go through the absolute basics of getting started on the Ravencoin chain.

Token types explained

There are several token types on RVN, in this article we’ll be focused on the fundamentals.

Main tokens 

• Required to mint other tokens, can be considered a license to mint on the Ravencoin chain. Can be considered as a conceptual company HQ, anything you want really.
• If you call your main token SHADOWDANCES, then all Sub tokens/Unique assets that you create under that main token, will be prefixed with that name. E.g BESTOKEN/VIDEOS . 
• You can use these tokens as coins as well, you can create quantities of up to 21 billion with up to 8 decimal places. 
• These tokens can be reissued if they run out, or need a design or detail updated.
• The cost of a Main token is set at 500 RVN

Sub tokens 

• Can be created under your Main Token
• Generally used when you need to distribute many of an identical item, costs less than a main asset which could also handle this use case.
• These tokens can also be reissued if they run out, or need a design or detail updated.
• As with the Main tokens these can also be used as coins, you can create quantities of up to 21 billion with up to 8 decimal places.

Unique assets

• Can be created under Main/Sub tokens, the naming format is MAIN#UNIQUE or MAIN/SUB#UNIQUE
• These should be used when you want to create a one of a kind asset.
• They cannot be re-issued or changed in any way once minted.

What do you want to do?

It’s really up to you what you would like to create on Ravencoin, the use cases are numerous, many still unthought of. At Synth we have gone with a structure which could be compared to a super-conglomerate or maybe a collection of guilds.

Our Main Token is SYNTH – this represents the main organization, and under this we have Sub Tokens like FACTORY, BAKERY, BANK, WORLDS and so on, each of these sub tokens  in turn represents a different faction of the main org – performing a specific function. For example, BAKERY produces Unique Assets which are primarily “Baking related” , things you might buy from a Bakery, but of course, fully virtual.

Why do the tokens have value?

But what makes these more than concepts with handy blockchain pointers? It’s the link with a file storage system which makes this more than just an idea.

IPFS (Interplanetary File System) is what the RVN chain uses for storing the data aspect of NFTs, the flexibility means that nearly anything can be added, there’s even support for projects coded in Golang and Javascript. So it goes way way beyond the typical Image based NFTs offered by other networks. The only other network/marketplace to get anywhere near this level of function/flex is Hen on Tezos. With RVN smart contract functionality is just a matter of it being coded – which is a great advantage once security concerns are alleviated.

How can I create my first main token?

We will take you through the process step by step, you will need 500 Ravencoin to complete the steps.

1. Download the web or mobile Ravencore wallet from https://ravencoin.org/wallet/
2. Install the wallet and wait for chain building to complete ( can take quite a long time )
3. Grab a receive address from the wallet by going to File -> Receiving Addresses
4. Send the 500 RVN to this receiving address so that is available in your Ravencoin wallet
5. Go to “Create Assets” in the main left menu of the menu
6. Select Main Asset in the Asset Type field
7. Set a name for the asset, ie SYNTH
8. Set a quantity of the asset, this is how many of the token will be received in your wallet upon creation, minimum is 1, maximum is 21000000000
9. Set a Units value, this is how many decimal places the token will have, i.e 1000.000000
10. Tick the box if this asset should be Reissuable in future
11. Add an IPFS hash if you want this asset to have a file associated with it.
12. Click the Check Availability button next to the asset name to ensure it’s not taken.
13. Click “Create Asset” at the bottom to complete, you will be asked to verify

And with that you have all you need to begin exploring further! If you would rather not create your own main token, and instead would rather mint a Unique asset (5 RVN) under an existing main token – the best place to check will be the Premium art house & Agency on RVN – https://rvnft.art/