What Is Radix (XRD)? The Asset-Oriented Layer 1 Explained

Radix is a layer-1 blockchain built specifically for decentralised finance, and XRD is its native token. Its main idea is that tokens are "native assets" handled by the network itself rather than balances written into each smart contract, an approach Radix calls asset-oriented, and it pairs that with its own smart-contract language, Scrypto, its own execution layer, the Radix Engine, and a dedicated mobile app, the Radix Wallet.

This guide covers how Radix works, XRD and staking, the scaling roadmap, and the 2025–2026 changes, including the August 2026 exploit. Figures are as of 12 October 2026.

What is Radix?

The Radix Public Network launched in July 2021 with Olympia, which supported transfers and staking but not general smart contracts. The current version, Babylon, went live on 28 September 2023, according to the Radix roadmap page. Babylon brought three things to mainnet together: Scrypto smart contracts, version two of the Radix Engine, and the Radix Wallet for iOS and Android, as described on the Babylon mainnet page.

Radix uses delegated proof of stake. XRD holders delegate their tokens to validators, and the validators run consensus. (See proof of stake vs proof of work.)

Scrypto, the Radix Engine, native assets and the wallet

On most smart-contract chains, a token is a contract that keeps a list of balances and re-implements transfer logic. Radix takes a different approach.

• Native assets (resources). Tokens and NFTs are created through a platform call. The creator sets parameters such as maximum supply or whether the token can be transferred, and the Radix Engine enforces the rules through a constrained finite state machine. Assets sit in "vaults" owned by accounts or components, and the engine is meant to make sure only the owner can withdraw from a vault.
• Scrypto. Scrypto is a smart-contract language based on Rust. Radix says an automated market maker matching Uniswap v2's features takes about 179 lines of Scrypto against about 750 lines of Solidity (Radix: What is Scrypto?). That is Radix's own comparison.
• Transaction manifests. A Radix transaction lists in plain terms which assets move where, and the wallet shows it before signing, to cut down on the blind signing behind many wallet-drainer attacks work on other chains.

This removes whole classes of token bugs, but not bugs in the engine itself, as the 2026 incident below shows.

The Radix Wallet and Personas

The Radix Wallet is the official mobile app, and it links to desktop browsers through Radix Connect. Its best-known feature is Personas: login identities, separate from your token accounts, for passwordless dApp sign-in. Each Persona is tied to an on-ledger "Identity" component that cannot hold tokens. The wallet proves you control it by signing a challenge, and it asks your permission before sharing personal data, such as an email address, with a dApp (Radix: Personas and Identities).

Multi-factor "smart account" security has been rolling out in phases. In January 2026 the Foundation said it was finishing Phase 3 to prepare it for mainnet (2026 strategy post). For general wallet hygiene, see our guide to seed phrases.

XRD: supply, fees and staking

XRD has two main jobs: staking and paying transaction fees. According to Radix's XRD token page:

• The maximum supply is 24 billion XRD. 12 billion were created at genesis in July 2021. The other 12 billion are minted as network emissions of about 300 million XRD a year over roughly 40 years, and are paid to stakers and validators.
• 50% of the base network fee is burnt, so heavy network use reduces supply growth a little.
• Only 100 validators take part in consensus at a time. Radix says this cap is expected to be lifted in the future "Xi'an" release.

As of 12 October 2026, CoinGecko listed about 13.55 billion XRD in circulation and a market capitalisation well under $10 million, after a steep fall in price over the past year. The live Radix Gateway API showed 100 validators active in the current epoch on the same day.

Liquid stake units (LSUs)

Radix offers liquid staking at the protocol level. When you stake XRD, the validator component mints liquid stake units (LSUs), and each validator issues its own LSU. LSUs are ordinary tokens. You can transfer them or trade them on Radix DEXs, so you don't need a third-party protocol to keep a staked position liquid (Radix: LSUs).

To unstake, you return the LSUs and receive a claim NFT. You can redeem the XRD after 2,016 epochs, or about seven days. Validators unstaking their own locked owner stake wait 8,064 epochs, about 28 days (Radix: unstaking times). Our explainer on epochs covers why chains measure time this way.

Validator economics changed in 2026. In a February 2026 consultation, token holders voted to taper the Foundation's validator subsidy and end it in June 2026. 71.6% of the roughly 1.03 billion XRD that voted backed the plan (consultation results). The Foundation warned stakers to watch for higher validator fees and offline "zombie" nodes, which stop earning rewards.

Cerberus, Xi'an and Hyperscale: where scaling stands

Radix's long-term pitch is Cerberus, a consensus design that runs BFT consensus in parallel across many shards and keeps transactions that touch several shards atomic. The Cerberus paper was peer-reviewed and published in 2023. On mainnet, though, both Olympia and Babylon run Cerberus in a "simplified unsharded form" (Radix: What is Cerberus?). The fully sharded version is planned for the Xi'an release, and Xi'an has no confirmed mainnet date.

The research implementation is called Hyperscale. In a public test reported in January 2026, Hyperscale sustained 500,000 transactions per second, with peaks above 800,000, using swap transactions across 128 shards on ordinary cloud hardware. (Interim Hyperscale: Closing the Chapter). That February 2026 post handed further Hyperscale work to the community, with no firm timeline for open-sourcing the remaining code.

The results come from a test network. The Radix mainnet you can use today is unsharded.

Who runs Radix now? The 2025–2026 transition

• February 2025: the Radix Foundation ended its development contract with RDX Works, the company that had built the protocol (A Fork in the Road).
• 2025: founder Dan Hughes, the designer of Cerberus, died. The Foundation's 2026 strategy describes the year as one of difficult market conditions and restructuring. Radix also connected to more than 150 chains through the Hyperlane bridge.
• January 2026: the Foundation announced it would hand Radix over to a community-led model. It said it would not sell XRD to cover running costs.
• February 2026: token holders elected a five-member Radix Accountability Council (RAC) to oversee the transition (RAC results).
• May 2026: the Foundation went into "maintenance mode". New development became minimal, and the core Gateway and relay services moved to an independent operator, pre-funded to the end of December 2026. The plan is for the remaining treasury to pass to a community DAO entity once one is set up (Moving to Maintenance Mode). In October 2026 the Radix website showed a DAO-formation vote as open.

In practice, Radix no longer has a well-funded company steering its roadmap. It depends on community teams for infrastructure and upgrades.

The August 2026 exploit and network halt

On 31 August 2026, an attacker exploited a bug in the Radix Engine that let a transaction withdraw from vaults it did not own. According to the Foundation's public incident report, the bug was introduced during a code clean-up by RDX Works in June 2023, and Zellic's August 2024 audit did not catch it. The attacker ran 26 transactions, took bridged ETH, WBTC, USDT, USDC, BNB and other assets out of third-party vaults including liquidity pools, and moved them off Radix through the Hyperlane bridge. No private keys were compromised.

Radix has no central pause switch, so validators deliberately took enough stake offline to stop consensus. The engine was then patched and externally reviewed. A community reconstruction cited by CryptoSlate puts direct losses at about $1.26 million and says user transactions resumed on 11 September 2026. It also reports that distorted prices in drained pools let another account extract millions of XRD afterwards.

A single engine-level bug put every vault on the network at risk. Our checklist on how to check a DeFi protocol is safe applies to Radix apps as much as anywhere else.

Radix DeFi apps and TVL

Radix DeFi is small and has shrunk sharply. DefiLlama shows Radix TVL above $40 million in April 2024 and about $1.27 million at the end of August 2026, just before the exploit. As of 12 October 2026 it was about $144,000. The largest on-chain apps on DefiLlama that day were:

With TVL this low, large swaps move prices a lot, and LSUs or liquid staking tokens can trade away from their underlying value. See what is an AMM for how pools set prices.

Where JewelSwap fits

JewelSwap runs on Radix, MultiversX and Sui. On Radix it offers JWLXRD liquid staking. You deposit XRD and receive JWLXRD, a 1:1-backed token, and JewelSwap stakes the XRD across several validators. You can then stake JWLXRD for SJWLXRD, which rises in value against JWLXRD as validator rewards come in. Redeeming for XRD takes a 10-day unbonding period with a transferable claim NFT. Compared with a native LSU, the main gain is not having to pick and monitor validators. The full mechanics are in our JWLXRD guide and the multi-chain overview of JewelSwap liquid staking. As with any app on Radix, check its current status before depositing, especially given the September 2026 restart.

Frequently asked questions

What is Radix crypto?

Radix is a layer-1 blockchain designed for DeFi, and XRD is its native token. It uses an asset-oriented model in which tokens are native resources enforced by the Radix Engine, and smart contracts are written in Scrypto, a Rust-based language. The current Babylon version went live on 28 September 2023.

What is XRD used for?

XRD is used for staking with validators under delegated proof of stake and for paying transaction fees, half of the base fee being burnt. Its maximum supply is 24 billion: 12 billion were created at genesis and the rest are emitted at about 300 million a year to stakers and validators.

Is Radix sharded?

Not yet on mainnet. Babylon runs Cerberus consensus in a simplified unsharded form. A sharded test network called Hyperscale sustained 500,000 transactions per second in a public test reported in January 2026, but the sharded Xi'an release has no confirmed mainnet date.

How long does it take to unstake XRD?

Unstaking natively takes 2,016 epochs, about seven days. You return your liquid stake units, receive a claim NFT and redeem it for XRD once the delay has passed. Validator owner stake has a longer delay of about 28 days.

What happened to Radix in August 2026?

On 31 August 2026 an attacker exploited a Radix Engine vault-authorisation bug and took about $1.26 million in bridged assets. Validators halted the network by taking stake offline, the engine was patched, and user transactions resumed on 11 September 2026, according to a community reconstruction reported by CryptoSlate.

Who controls Radix now?

The Radix Foundation went into maintenance mode in May 2026 and is handing control to the community. A five-member Radix Accountability Council elected by XRD holders is overseeing the move to a community DAO entity, and core infrastructure has moved to an independent operator.

Keep reading

• JWLXRD: liquid staking XRD on Radix with JewelSwap
• What is liquid staking? JewelSwap's multi-chain model
• What is Sui?
• What is a crypto bridge?
• Multi-chain DeFi explained

This article is educational and not financial advice. Figures are as of 12 October 2026, from the Radix Foundation, the Radix Gateway API, DefiLlama, CoinGecko and CryptoSlate, linked above.