About Radicle (RAD)

Radicle is a decentralized code collaboration platform. The protocol’s governance token, an ERC-20, is RAD; it confers voting rights within Radicle’s decentralized autonomous organization (DAO). RAD can also be used to fund projects building on the network.

Positioned as a decentralized competitor to code-collaboration hubs like Github and GitLab, Radicle allows developers (or “peers”) to come together to build decentralized applications without the oversight of centralized organizations and intermediaries.

Within the open-source platform data is disseminated by Radicle Link, a directed acyclic graphic (DAG)-backed “replication protocol” build on top of Gitthat enables developers to discover and collaborate on various Git-based code repositories. Per Messari, Radicle Link leverages a peer-to-peer process called “gossip” to actively distribute data to relevant stakeholders.

Technically speaking, each code repository is stored locally by the developers working on that specific project. Each code contributor is said to maintain their own working copy of the project, as well as local copies of all data associated with the projects and peers they follow, Messari said. Contributors share (or “replicate”) this data with other peers, creating a powerful decentralized framework that eliminates the need for centralized servers or organizations.

As noted by project documentation, each contributor has full capacity to make changes to their unique copy of the project. Once a change to the developer’s working copy is made, they can submit a “patch” to begin the process of merging the contribution into the project.

New projects on the network are created by maintainers. According to project documentation, maintainers possess the authority to view proposed code changes and ultimately merge them with the project. Maintainers also possess the ability to appoint delegates with the authority to review and accept work. A quorum of delegate public keys is required to implement new changes to a given project, Messari explained.

Radicle Upstream, a web-based application, serves as the means through which users interact with the platform and contribute/collaborate on code. Likewise, Upstream allows maintainers/delegates to track, review, and merge new contributions to the project. According to project documentation, maintainers can also leverage Radicle CLI, a set of command line tools, to provide similar functionality.

According to Messari, Radicle marked 2021 with the release of “Opt-In Ethereum Integration,” a process which enables projects to anchor metadata to the Ethereum ledger and receive token-based funding from their peers. Within this framework, projects can also create decentralized organizations to define the rules, and to access controls and permissions regarding their code base via an autonomous smart contract.

When was RAD created and how much was it worth?

Radicle is the brainchild of German software firm Monadic, who launched the code collaboration protocol in 2018.

Despite their role in early development, Monadic maintains that the Radicle is an entirely open-source platform in which they hold no direct ownership or equity.

Monadic is currently lead by cofounders Alexis Sellier and Eleftherios Diakomichalis. Prior to his foray into the realm of blockchain, Diakomnichalis served as VP of data science and engineering for popular music streaming platform SoundCloud.

Radicle’s native token, RAD, was first disseminated to the public via a Balancer-based liquidity bootstrapping pool (LBP) on February 25th, 2021, with prices ranging from $9.76 -$28 over the two-day distribution period.

Shortly before RAD’s public release, Radicle managed to conduct a $12 million private token sale that saw the platform procure funds from a series of leading industry VCs including Coinbase Ventures and ParaFi capital, among others.

Per CoinGecko, RAD reached an all-time high of $27.61 in April of 2021. Then it pulled back considerably. Despite an autumn 2021 rally that saw RAD reach $18.55, the token has been subjected to downside volatility. As of late July, RAD was $1.60. 

How is the price of RAD determined?

RAD is a deflationary asset with a hard cap of 100 million tokens. According to Messari, 50% of RAD’s supply was allocated to Radicle’s treasury, while an additional 20% was earmarked for the platform’s early supporters. Some 19 million tokens were earmarked for Radicle’s core development team and another 3.75 million distributed via the protocol’s aforementioned public sale.

As of July 2022, there were 41.2 million RAD tokens in circulation.

Why does RAD have value?

Radicle provides a decentralized, open-source alternative to (centralized) code collaboration networks like GitHub.

As noted by CoinMarcketCap, “the platform is all set to be a giant in the open-source software world, once Web3 hits the sky.” Institutional investors seem to be aware of this promise as well. In July of 2022, the protocol reportedly received a sizable investment from major Venture Capital firm NFX. 

Is RAD secure?

The protocol has an opt-in integration with Ethereum to secure project data, Messari said. As opposed to centralized servers, projects built on Radicle are stored and secured by a decentralized network of peers, creating a framework in which developers can collaborate without intermediaries, CoinMarketCap explained.

What are the main benefits of RAD?

• Radicle provides a decentralized, open-source alternative to (centralized) code collaboration networks like GitHub.
• The platform is censor resistant and backed by a global network of computer operators rather than centralized servers.
• Ethereum Integration ensures project state immutability, facilitates code collaboration for decentralized organizations and introduces an economic model for the collective governance and ownership of the protocol, Messari explained.
• "Network participants are subject to fees when interacting with the Ethereum smart contracts," Messari added, emphasizing how all fees generated by the protocol flow to the community-run Radicle Treasury.

What do critics say about RAD?

That it’s going up against firmly established players like GitHub and GitLab.