REQ is the native cryptocurrency of the Request project.

Request is an Ethereum-based decentralized payment system that facilitates the exchange of money without third parties. Transactions on the Request Network are immutably recorded, and users can pay and/or get paid in digital currencies of many other networks, according to the company’s website.

REQ is the utility token that powers the Request Network. It was launched in 2017 and is intended to ensure the performance and stability of the network. Miners are charged a fee when a payment is created, which is then stored on an Ethereum smart contract.

The fees, paid out in REQ, are burned periodically to lower the amount of REQ in existence. Theoretically, the controlled supply and network demand (via potential use cases) could justify the value of the token.

A total of 999,876,008.01 REQ are in circulation out of a maximum supply of 999,877,117 REQ.

On its Oct. 20, 2017, launch, REQ changed hands at $0.05684.

Prices for REQ reached an all-time high of $1.18 on Jan. 6, 2018, and collapsed to just slightly above $0.02 a year later. It suffered an all-time low of $0.004651 on March 13, 2020, during the COVID-19 panic selling on that day. It subsequently rebounded to as high as $1.08 on Nov. 25, 2021.

Over 1,000 companies and decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs) use Request to facilitate decentralized payments, according to the company’s website. The system also automates real-time global accounting, replaces an entire branch of the audit, eliminates manual tax collection and simplifies international payments, according to Request’s whitepaper.

The whitepaper also states that Request “replaces payment systems such as PayPal.” Automation and efficient invoicing are the main value propositions for Request.

Christophe Lassuyt, who is chief financial officer, and Etienne Tatur, who serves as chief technology officer, are the founders of Request.