Out with the old, and in with the new
Today, the old persona of Radium gives way to a new, fresh, exciting look, including a change of name — to Validity (VAL).
There has been no change of direction here; the project still maintains its core functionalities of bringing advanced utility to the blockchain. However, the team had felt for a while that not only was it not catchy enough, but that the name Radium did not convey quite the right message.
Originally, the technology was dubbed Radium after the naturally-occurring element that decreases over time, mirroring its reduction in inflation until the maximum supply of nine million coins is reached. However, it had become apparent that too many parallels were being drawn with radioactivity, invoking people’s mixed feelings about nuclear power. Odd links were made with the historical uses of radium before all the side-effects were fully understood. You only have to read about the unfortunate ‘Radium girls’, women who developed radiation poisoning from painting watch dials with naturally luminous paint, to appreciate the negative connotations for the name Radium.
So, after many months of discussion within the team and consultation with the community, we concluded that a rebranding was overdue.
So, why Validity?
The dictionary definition of the word ‘validity’ is:
‘the quality of being logically or factually sound; soundness or cogency’
Frankly, we couldn’t think of a descriptor more relevant to the technology of the Validity blockchain!
The word ‘valid’ also comes from the Latin ‘validus’ meaning ‘strong’ and this chimes perfectly with the confidence users can have in the ability of the technology to deliver a robust user experience.
We felt that valid, strong and cogent were words that would create a far more positive vibe for this outstanding staking asset, as the blockchain has been working as intended for more than four years now.
What’s the significance of the new logo?
You can’t have a rebrand without a new logo, so all the team’s design power was put into a big churn, a handle was cranked a couple of hundred times, and the result was the clean, crisp image you see below.
Symbolically, it’s green for eco-friendly (staking doesn’t require excessive amounts of energy to validate blocks); it’s white for purity; and the tick is central not only to the logo itself but to the fundamentals of Validity, indicating that something important has been verified and ticked off.
What does this mean for you as a user?
We’ve put together a few of the most likely questions:
Will my old Radium Core wallet still work with the Validity network?
Yes. The Validity rebrand is simply cosmetic and an effort to better align our outward appearance with our inner machinations.
Will I get to keep my old RADS coins?
Yes, of course. They will now be known as VAL. All exchanges and services will be adjusted accordingly.
Is there anything that I need to do in order to keep staking?
Nope. You can use the former Radium wallet or the newly-skinned Validity wallet.
Will there be an airdrop, an ICO or an IEO?
No, none of the above.
We love to hear your feedback, so feel free to join us on Discord or Telegram.
Linda Prior
December 2020
