Radix (XRD)

Overview

Radix is a layer-1 network built for decentralized finance, or DeFi. A layer-1 network is the base system that records transactions and runs applications. Radix’s native token, XRD, pays for network activity and helps secure the ledger through staking. Developers can also use Radix to create tokens and build financial applications, while users interact with them through the Radix Wallet. (docs.radixdlt.com)

The project focuses on how people handle assets. On Radix, the network recognizes tokens and non-fungible tokens, or NFTs, as resources with built-in rules. This shapes the way applications are written and the way wallet users review transactions. Radix’s live smart-contract network is called Babylon. Its proposed sharded architecture for much greater scale remains a separate development effort. (radixdlt.com)

History & Team

Radix grew from work begun by Dan Hughes in 2013. Hughes was the project’s founder and original network architect. Piers Ridyard joined in 2017 and later served as CEO of Radix DLT, helping turn the early research into a public project. Hughes died in July 2025. (radixdlt.com)

The first Radix public mainnet, Olympia, launched in July 2021 with basic token transfers and staking. Babylon followed on September 27, 2023, adding Scrypto smart contracts, a new transaction model and the current Radix Wallet experience. The Radix Foundation ended its development arrangement with RDX Works in 2025 and took work in-house. In 2026, the Foundation began moving services and decision-making toward community operators and an elected Radix Accountability Council. It entered an essentials-only maintenance phase in May 2026. (docs.radixdlt.com)

Technology & How It Works

Assets and applications

The Radix Engine runs transactions and applications. Its resource model gives the network built-in ways to create, hold and move assets. Developers write application logic in Scrypto, a language based on Rust. Instead of writing every basic token rule from scratch, they can use the network’s asset tools and concentrate on what their application does. Scrypto programs use reusable designs called blueprints and working instances called components. (radixdlt.com)

Radix also uses a transaction manifest to describe the steps in an action, such as withdrawing one token, swapping it and depositing the result. The wallet can turn much of that information into a readable review before a user approves the transaction. Smart Accounts hold assets in on-ledger containers called vaults and can support more flexible account controls than a simple address tied to one key. (docs.radixdlt.com)

Validators and scaling

Babylon uses a HotStuff-style consensus system. XRD holders can delegate stake to validators, and the 100 registered validators with the most stake form the active set. Validators check and agree on transactions, while successful participation earns protocol emissions. Babylon records a stream of committed transactions with deterministic finality. (docs.radixdlt.com)

Radix’s long-term scaling research explores sharding: dividing network work among groups of nodes. The aim is to let a transaction involving several applications succeed or fail as one action, even when those applications sit on different shards. This property is called atomic composability. A public Hyperscale test reported high throughput across 128 shards in February 2026, but that result describes a test network rather than Babylon’s live capacity. (radixdlt.com)

Tokenomics & Utility

XRD has two core network roles. It is used to delegate stake to validators, and it pays transaction fees. The published allocation created 12 billion XRD at the 2021 network launch and set out a further 12 billion for gradual validator and staker rewards. The stated emission target is about 300 million XRD a year. The allocation also included tokens for early community members, project development, incentives and network support. (radixdlt.com)

A transaction’s XRD cost can include a network fee, an optional validator tip and royalties charged by developers whose components it uses. Under Radix’s fee rules, half of the base network fee is burned; the other half goes to validators. Tips go to the validator leading the round, while royalties go to the relevant application or blueprint creator. Thus, paying a fee does not mean every XRD spent in a transaction is burned. (radixdlt.com)

In 2025, token holders supported a proposal to put a previously designated 2.4-billion-XRD stablecoin reserve toward ecosystem incentives and growth. That proposal also included shortening the future emissions schedule. The distinction between an existing allocation, an approved direction and a protocol change matters when describing the token’s economic model. (radixdlt.com)

Ecosystem & Use Cases

Radix’s main application area is DeFi. Developers have built decentralized exchanges for swapping tokens, lending markets and tools for providing assets to trading pools. Examples developed on the network include Ociswap and DeFiPlaza for trading, and WEFT Finance and Root Finance for lending. These applications have their own rules and purposes; XRD’s common role is to support activity on the underlying network. (radixdlt.com)

The resource model can also support community tokens, NFTs, membership credentials and applications that require several approvals. A developer may reuse another developer’s component and pay its on-ledger royalty when a transaction calls it. This gives builders a way to share working pieces of software. (radixdlt.com)

Cross-chain access expanded when Hyperlane launched routes for Radix in September 2025, allowing assets from other networks to be represented and used on Radix. The Ethereum-based token eXRD is a wrapped representation of XRD; it serves a different network environment from native XRD held in a Radix account. (radixdlt.com)

Advantages & Challenges

Radix brings its asset model, application language and wallet together in one system. Native resource rules reduce the amount of routine token-handling code developers need to write. Transaction manifests help people understand the asset movements they are approving. Developer royalties offer an incentive to publish reusable components. (radixdlt.com)

Its challenges are both technical and organizational. Developers must learn Scrypto rather than use Ethereum’s existing smart-contract tools unchanged. Radix must attract builders and users in a field with many established networks. Its ambitious sharding research also needs to become dependable production software before it can change the live network’s capacity. Meanwhile, the move from Foundation-run services to community operation requires people to maintain infrastructure, tools and governance processes. (docs.radixdlt.com)

A serious test of the live system occurred on August 31, 2026, when an attacker exploited a Radix Engine vault-authorization flaw and withdrew bridged assets from accounts and application vaults. Validators coordinated to stop new transactions while the flaw was addressed. The incident made core-engine testing, recovery procedures and service continuity central issues for the ecosystem. (radixdlt.com)

Where to Buy & Wallets

XRD is listed on KuCoin, Gate and CoinEx. Exchange access and supported services vary by location. A purchase of native XRD can be sent to a Radix account, while eXRD is a wrapped token on Ethereum and Base. The network chosen for a withdrawal determines which form of the asset and which type of receiving wallet is needed. (coingecko.com)

The Radix Wallet is available for iOS and Android. It holds native XRD and other Radix assets, shows transaction reviews and connects to applications. Desktop-browser use involves the Radix Connector extension linked to the mobile wallet. The connector also supports Ledger hardware devices through a computer. Users can manage staking through Radix’s account tools and dashboard. (wallet.radixdlt.com)

Regulatory & Compliance

Radix-related organizations include the Radix Foundation and Radix Tokens (Jersey) Limited. Token issuance and the activities of these organizations sit within applicable Jersey requirements. Elsewhere, rules often focus on the service being offered. In the European Union, MiCA sets requirements for crypto-asset service providers and relevant token disclosures. In the United Kingdom, certain crypto businesses must register under anti-money-laundering rules, and promotions to UK consumers must follow financial-promotion requirements. In the United States, the treatment of a crypto-asset transaction depends on its facts and the relevant securities-law framework. (radixdlt.com)

Shariah assessment depends on how XRD is used and on the activity of any application involved. Paying network fees, delegating stake and entering a lending arrangement are different activities. Islamic finance standards examine matters including interest (riba), excessive uncertainty (gharar) and gambling (maysir). Radix’s open network supports many kinds of applications, so an assessment of a particular use must consider its actual terms and transactions. (aaoifi.com)

Future Outlook

Radix’s next stage is shaped by community stewardship. The Foundation has funded arrangements for key gateway and connection services through December 2026 and has moved other tools toward community operation. Further development depends on contributors who can maintain the live network, improve the wallet and applications, and carry scaling research forward. The August 2026 engine incident also places added importance on reviewing core code and coordinating upgrades. (radixdlt.com)

For Radix, progress is more than a throughput figure. The practical measure will be whether its asset tools remain useful to developers, its applications meet users’ needs, and its community can sustain the services that connect people to the ledger.

Summary

Radix is a DeFi-focused layer-1 network with a distinctive way of handling assets, building applications and reviewing transactions. XRD pays network fees and supports validator staking. Babylon supplies the live smart-contract platform; sharded scaling remains a longer-term effort. Radix’s place in the crypto ecosystem will depend on how well its technology and community-led operations work together. (docs.radixdlt.com)