Moonriver operates as a decentralized smart contract platform, with its utility token, MOVR, playing an important role in its functionality. The MOVR token is used to support the gas metering of smart contract execution, compensate collators, power the creation of a decentralized node infrastructure, facilitate the on-chain governance mechanism, and pay for network transaction fees. Moonriver's compatibility with Ethereum allows developers to deploy existing Solidity smart contracts and DApp frontends with minimal changes, making it a convenient platform for Ethereum developers.