Overview
Last updated
Last updated
R5 is a project that revisits the proof‑of‑work consensus mechanism on EVM networks to create a highly performant and secure blockchain. It is capable of processing over 1,000 transactions per second while leveraging battle‑tested architecture and privacy features. It also creates a more just and fair economic dynamic for market participants, users, and miners.
The R5 Protocol is the collective architecture that enables client software to connect and interact with the R5 Network.
There are three distinct public networks that you can connect to:
Also known as the R5 Blockchain, mainnet is the decentralised public ledger of the R5 Network. The mainnet uses R5 as its native coin, and it is where production‑ready protocols, applications, tokens, and NFTs are maintained.
Also known as the R5 Testnet, this is the final testing ground for major protocol updates before they are deployed to mainnet. It runs only on stable builds and is used by developers around the globe to test their applications and protocols prior to mainnet deployment.
Also known as the R5 Devnet, this unstable network is used to test new features and early‑stage updates to the R5 Protocol. It is a place where developers can trial their applications against the latest proposed updates to the R5 Blockchain.
Local Networks
You can also run your own local private instance of the R5 Network. Our SDK makes it easy, even for beginners, to deploy their own R5 Network in just a few minutes.
The R5 Core Protocol improves upon Ethereum's codebase, specifically re-implementing an updated, independent, and more performant version of Geth as a network client.
Consensus Mechanism
R5 Proof-of-Work
Proof-of-Stake
Mining Algorithm
Ethash-R5
n/a
Max. Theoretical Throughput
> 1,000 tx/s
119 tx/s
Gas Processing (Go Client)
> 100 Mgas/s
~ 1.25 Mgas/s
Max. Block Size (in gas)
147,000,000u
30,000,000u
Base Fee (in gas)
21,000u
21,000u
Target Block Time
~7s to 10s
~12s
Default Caches in Memory
3
2
Default Datasets in Memory
3
2
Transaction Pool Buffer
8,192
4,096
Smart Contract Support
✓
✓
Privacy
✓
X
The updated source code allows for larger blocks, lower block times, and overall faster execution of EVM and non-EVM transactions and gas processing - or block validation.
When sending transactions on the R5 blockchain, you will incur fees. These fees vary depending on whether the transaction is an EVM transaction or a non‑EVM transaction, as well as on network traffic and the prevailing fee market conditions. All transaction fees are paid to the miners.
Think of the gas price as analogous to the petrol price at a service station. Your vehicle will consume a predictable amount of fuel – measured in litres – to travel from point A to point B. However, the actual cost of the journey depends on the price per litre. Similarly, gas prices on R5 affect transaction fees: even if the amount of gas required remains constant, the final fee is determined by the gas price you pay per unit of gas.
Non‑EVM transactions, which are typically used to update wallet balances of the native R5 coin, have a fixed computational cost. Each non‑EVM transaction is charged a BASE FEE of 21,000 units of gas – equivalent to R5 0.000021. The actual transaction fee is calculated by multiplying this base fee by the current gas price. For example, if you pay 1 Gu per unit of gas, your transaction will cost 21,000 units. If you pay 5 Gu per unit of gas, the cost will be 105,000 units.
EVM transactions involve more complex computations as they interact with smart contracts. The fee structure for these transactions is dynamic and depends on the complexity and compute requirements of the contract execution. The fee for an EVM transaction is composed of:
BASE FEE: A fixed fee of 21,000 units of gas.
DYNAMIC FEE: An additional fee calculated based on the amount of computation required for executing the smart contract function calls.
R5 has a built-in privacy protocol called ZKNet. Developers can leverage on its technology to create Zero-Knowledge private subnetworks whereby users can generate private stealth accounts to transact between each other with greatly enhanced privacy.
To estimate the fee for an EVM transaction, you can call the appropriate , which will compute the total fee as the sum of the BASE FEE and the DYNAMIC FEE.
