Rising Or Falling Star?

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Authored by: @hetty-rowan


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Newsletters in my mailbox

Since I ended up in crypto currency, I have subscribed to multiple crypto newsletters due to my enthusiasm that sometimes end up in my mailbox daily, sometimes weekly and some monthly. Many only try to sell their own project, and are quickly marked as spam by me, I then quickly unsubscribe from the newsletter and do not look at it anymore. Others, however, send me the interesting news, exactly what I am interested in. In this way I try to keep up to date with what is happening in crypto. Although in my opinion it is still an almost impossible matter to keep track of EVERYTHING. And that also means that I often have the idea that I am running behind the facts.

But every now and then something comes up in such a newsletter that arouses my interest, so that I try to delve deeper into that project myself. And that was the case a few days ago. A newsletter wrote about The Orion Protocol.

Now when I think of Orion I immediately think of a galaxy, which is not entirely illogical of course. In Greek mythology, Orion was a giant hunter who placed Zeus (or perhaps Artemis) among the stars as the constellation Orion, in the galaxy Orion.

So when I read the name Orion I saw a network in front of me with all connection points, derived from a galaxy. All separate stars that are nevertheless connected with each other. And that aroused enough of my interest to find out more. As usual when my interest is piqued I want to find out what it is, how it works and what the thought is behind it. And how do I put that in a crypto perspective?

So today we're going to be looking at a new star in the crypto firnament.



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Rising or falling star?

Orion Protocol (ORN): Of course I don't know if you've ever heard of it. It is a relatively young and small crypto. good chance that you have not heard about it yet as it is still a relatively small and young crypto. But even though they are still relatively young and small, Orion Protocol is ranked 267 in CoinMarketCap with a market cap of $ 100 million. Compared to the big boys, that is of course nothing: Bitcoin has a market cap of more than 800 billion dollars and Ethereum has a market cap of 200 billion dollars. Orion Protocol is nothing compared to the larger cryptos. But the advantage you can see in this is that a small market cap still offers a lot of room for greater growth opportunities!

What is Orion Protocol (ORN)?

Orion Protocol (ORN) is the very first gateway (terminal) to the entire crypto market! Let this sink in for a moment before reading on. A gateway to THE ENTIRE CRYPTO MARKET.
In this gateway, all central exchanges (CEX), decentralized exchanges (DEX) and swap pools are merged into one 'easy-to-use' decentralized platform. The key to Orion's value is its built-in liquidity aggregator, which allows users to automatically access multiple exchanges to get the best bargain price for all supported cryptos, with the best features from both central and decentralized exchanges.
This liquidity aggregator is therefore also the greatest asset of Orion Protocol, which distinguishes them from all others. A liquidity aggregator is a technology that allows the users to simultaneously obtain prices from several different liquidity providers, such as central exchanges and decentralized exchanges. To fully understand this, you need to understand the difference between central exchanges and decentralized exchanges. Then you see why the Orion Protocol can be a “Big Deal”!

Central exchanges (CEX)

Central trading platforms, or centralized exchanges, are online platforms used to buy and sell cryptocurrencies. Central exchanges are the most common platforms investors use to buy and sell cryptos. Examples of central exchanges are Bitvavo, Binance, Coinbase, Kraken and Bitmex. An advantage of central exchanges compared to decentralized exchanges is that they have relatively low fees, because the orders and transactions are not stored on a blockchain.
But what makes central exchanges central? Crypto is decentralized, right? Isn't that why we think crypto is so great, and what attracts us to crypto? Not being dependent on a third party. We complain bitterly about the banks, that old-fashioned centralized system where the bank manages your money. We don't have that in crypto, do we? Hmmm, uhm… no the idea of ​​crypto is that you don't have it anymore. But many exchanges are in fact not that different from the banks in the fiat system.
Central exchanges are central because they use an intermediary or a third party to make transactions help carry out. Both buyers and sellers rely on this middleman to handle their assets. Here you can compare it with a bank transfer, where the customer trusts that the bank will keep his or her money. With a central exchange you are therefore not really in possession of crypto; the exchange will keep it for you. Do you see the agreement with a bank?
This system is called an 'IOU'. IOU stands for 'I Owe You', or in other words: 'I owe you something'. An IOU is an informal contract and is therefore not considered a legal legal document. This means that the party with debts has no legal obligation to actually pay the debt just because they have written down and signed an acknowledgment of debt. So if a central exchange is hacked and cryptos are stolen from their exchange, they owe you nothing and you have lost your cryptos. In the crypto world it is therefore always said: "Not your keys, not your coins." In fact, having a lot of crypto on an exchange is never a safe way to keep your crypto. We all know that… it is even more unsafe when you put money in a bank. A bank still has a legal obligation to pay you back your money if they are hacked. A crypto exchange does not have that obligation… Hmm something to think about for a moment!

Decentralized exchange (DEX)

Then the central exchanges, they are comparable to central exchanges only without the intervention of a third party holding the crypto. Trading on a decentralized exchange takes place between two people, each with their own wallet and their own keys: peer-to-peer. The main difference is that the backend of a decentralized exchange runs on a blockchain with smart contracts. No one takes over the custody of your cryptos, so you don't have to trust the exchange as much as with centralized exchanges, if at all. That is already better because you are really in possession of your crypto, and therefore bear the responsibility for it yourself. Your keys, your crypto.

On-chain order books

Decentralized exchanges come in different forms. First, you have the form in which everything happens on the blockchain. On the one hand, this ensures the most transparency. On the other hand, the disadvantage of this is that all nodes (participants) of the network must have a copy of the blockchain, which means that fees and transaction times can run high.

Off-chain order books

Second, you also have decentralized exchanges where the order book is stored off-chain. The exchange is therefore still partially decentralized, because the users still keep their own keys, but the orders are stored centrally elsewhere. Only when the order is through and a transaction takes place, it is placed on the blockchain. This approach is better from a usability point of view than the on-chain order books exchanges. They don't face the same speed and fee constraints as they use the blockchain less often. Still, the transaction has to be settled on it, so the off-chain order book model is still inferior to centralized exchanges in terms of speed.

Automated Market Makers (AMM)

The previous two approaches to decentralized exchanges are now outdated. Since the emergence of UniSwap, the idea has been discarded with order books. UniSwap and Loopring, among others, use the Automated Market Makers model. Decentralized exchanges that use SMP therefore work without order books. Now I can already hear you thinking: how do you trade without an order book? In short, it means that Automated Market Makers use smart contracts that hold liquidity reserves (liquidity pools) against which traders can trade. These reserves are funded by liquidity providers. Read more about UniSwap and Automated Market Makers. A disadvantage of UniSwap and other DEXs that use AMM is that they do this on the Ethereum blockchain. Firstly, you can only swap ERC-20 token. Second, you are dealing with high gas prices on the Ethereum blockchain. And I don't know what you guys think about it, but I don't think it's a joke to do a swap with $ 20 and then have to pay almost double the gas fees. With my small budget that is a reason for me to unfortunately avoid the Uniswap. Even though there are sometimes gems and I would have liked to have done a swap to receive the airdrop… lol

Orion Protocol Terminal

But what does this have to do with Orion Protocol? Orion Protocol is an all-in-one DeFi platform that offers a universal trading platform to all crypto markets, with unlimited liquidity; Orion Terminal. Powered by a unique liquidity aggregator, connecting to all major exchanges (both centralized as decentralized).
Orion Protocol therefore wants to distinguish itself by connecting the liquidity and the advantages of central and decentralized exchanges in one platform. Orion Protocol is therefore not an exchange of its own and does not compete with other exchanges, but bundles the order books and the liquidity pools of central and decentralized exchanges in one.

We don't compete with exchanges: we aggregate them.


The Orion Protocol terminal offers a number of advantages:

  • Always the best price because all exchanges are connected on one platform.
  • Lowest possible trading fee.
  • You keep your crypto in your own wallet and not the exchange as with CEXs.
  • Not just ERC-20 tokens, but multiple blockchains.
  • No longer switching between different exchanges; all the crypto pairs you need.
  • No account required with multiple exchanges

How does Orion Protocol (ORN) work?

Delegated Proof of Broker

Orion Protocol runs the Terminal using one of the latest consensus algorithms: Delegated Proof of Broker (DPoB). Delegated Proof of Broker is a variation of the Proof of Stake mechanism. The mechanism consists of two parts: Brokers and Non-Broker Stakers.

  • Brokers ensure that all exchanges on the Orion platform are connected. Brokers have installed the Orion Broker Software, have multiple accounts with exchanges, and staked at least $ 10,000 in ORN.
  • Non-Broker Stakers are basically 'just' strikers who stake their ORN, just like other Proof of Stake algorithms.
    The Orion Broker Software that the Brokers have installed ensures that the computers of the Brokers automatically execute transactions from the liquidity aggregator. Brokers receive a portion of the fees that are paid for every trade they execute. Non-Broker Stakers struck their ORN to "vote" on their choice of Broker. That choices are made based on the share of the reward that the Broker offers them. Brokers are thus stimulated to offer attractive rates to Non-Broker Stakers, so that they have a greater chance of being elected.
    Currently, the testnet runs on the Ethereum blockchain, but the mainnet, which launches in the first quarter of 2021, will run on the Elrond blockchain. Elrond uses Adaptive State Sharding and Secure Proof of Stake, making it faster and cheaper than the Ethereum network.

Orion Protocol products

Orion Protocol has other products besides the terminal. In fact, Orion Protocol has no fewer than 16 different sources of income in total. Orion does not only focus on the business-to-consumer market, but also on other companies within the crypto market: the business-to-business market.

Portfolio management application

Orion's portfolio management application allows users to set alerts for arbitrage opportunities, track their activity on exchanges and automate asset management processes, among other things. And all this without ever giving up your private keys; you therefore remain in control of your crypto.

Orion Marketplace

Orion also offers an app store where users can purchase DApps created with the Orion Software Developer Kit. These can be arbitrage bots or algorithm trading bots, for example. These DApps are paid with ORN tokens.

DEX Kit

The DEX Kit is a platform where users can create their own decentralized exchange and make use of the liquidity of Orion Protocol. This is more focused on the business-to-business market.

Orion Liquidity Boost Plugin

Another business-to-business application. Orion Liquidity Boost Plugin is a plugin that other, especially smaller, exchanges can use, allowing them to use the liquidity of all exchanges.

Orion ORN Tokenomics

The Orion Protocol token is $ ORN, an ERC-20 token that runs on the Ethereum network. The maximum total supply of tokens has been put at 100 million. At the moment, however, there are only 17 million tokens in circulation. Some of the remaining tokens will be released in the coming years, some will be burned. The total supply of 100 million will therefore in all probability never be achieved.

Use Cases?

So what's the point of the ORN tokens? Orion has thought carefully about this too.
First, Orion's ORN is used with every revenue source of the platform. Similar to Binance Coin (BNB), with ORN you get a discount on the trades you make on the Orion platform.
The Delegated Proof of Broker consensus algorithm ensures that Brokers are required to stake ORN in order to be chosen to execute trades. While Non-Broker Stakers can strike ORN to vote for their chosen Broker.
All fees for trades, be it traders or DeFi products, are converted into ORN tokens from the market, even if the trader chooses to pay the fee in non-ORN tokens.
Orion will sell advertising space on their platform. This advertising space is purchased with $ ORN.
To become a Broker you need at least $ 10,000 in ORN tokens.
100% of the licensing fees generated by Orion Protocol's B2B product range of DeFi solutions will be used to purchase and withdraw $ ORN tokens from the market. Withdrawing these tokens from circulation causes more scarcity of the tokens.

HODLORN:

Users who have ORN tokens can unlock additional premium services on the platform. For example, ORN holders can set up advanced trade orders not available to other users, such as managing Stop Loss and Take Profit parameters. Holders also receive alerts for arbitrage opportunities and other useful features.

Orion Partners

As a terminal for the entire crypto market and as a platform for other companies in the crypto market, it is important to work with good partners. Orion will use the mainnet's infrastructure and the interoperability applications of the Elrond blockchain to make the terminal as fast and seamless as possible. In addition, Orion also works with Wanchain for atomic swaps and with AllianceBlock so that you can manage your crypto on the platform yourself. Last but not least, we also discuss the integration of Chainlink here. This collaboration is mainly aimed at the b2b market. The decentralized structure and real-time price feeds of all central and decentralized exchanges in the market will provide Chainlink with data to improve their price oracles. This adds reliability and accuracy to the Chainlink ecosystem. This ensures that Orion Protocol trading data is available to other DeFi dApps via the Chainlink Network. Read more about oracles and Chainlink here.

Orion Protocol Roadmap

Orion is still a young project and has yet to prove itself. They promise to release a whole arsenal of applications in the coming year. Orion Terminal, the gateway to the entire crypto market, is the largest and most important project. Currently, the terminal's testnet is run with a select number of users. This testnet still runs on the Ethereum blockchain. The mainnet terminal will be officially released on the Elrond blockchain in the first quarter of 2021. This month, ORN Internal Staking will go live in which users can stake their ORN while remaining the administrator of their own crypto. Other applications such as the DEX Kit and the Liquidity Plugin will be released later in the year.

Orion Protocol Team

Orion's CEO, Alexey Koloskov, is a blockchain developer and the lead architect and creator of the decentralized exchange Waves (Waves' DEX). Alexey has extensive experience in developing and managing complex banking software and in managing large-scale IT projects. Kai Ali, Orion's Operations Director, is a blockchain strategic advisor / consultant on several projects, including Holochain, Morpheus Network and Quant Network. In addition to the CEO and COO, the Orion Protcol team has a large marketing department and a large back- and front-end developing team.

Criticism

Is everything rose scent and moonshine? No, of course not! It really never is. First of all, it is important to realize that until today, these are all just promises. Nothing more, and nothing less! The mainnet is not live yet, as are most other applications. Investing in ORN is therefore speculating on the success of the project. Orion Protocol will not be the first project that cannot live up to expectations. The roadmap also clearly shows that the majority of the project has yet to be released.
Second, Orion's team manages a large percentage of $ ORN tokens in-house. On the one hand, this ensures that the team has an interest in the success of the token, on the other hand, the distribution of the tokens is not decentralized at the moment.

Finally, Orion has already postponed the deadlines for the various products and services they want to offer. Orion's mainnet would initially go live in the fourth quarter of 2020. It is therefore not entirely inconceivable that the coming deadlines will not be met. However, this shows that Orion Protocol has a preference for quality: they prefer to postpone something rather than release it 'half'.

Last but not least, the token form Orion, y'all wanna know what it's value is right now … Okay, today 1 ORN is worth $5.88. The ATH from ORN was on August, 13, 2020 with a price of $7.11 and the ATL was July, 16, 2020 with a price of $0.53

Conclusion

All in all, Orion is a hugely ambitious project with a lot of promise in both the business-to-consumer market and the business-to-business market. Orion Protocol brings something unique to the market with the liquidity aggregator that has never been done before: bringing the liquidity of CEXs, DEXs and swap pools together on one platform. If Orion Protocol can successfully and timely realize all parts of the roadmap, then it certainly has the potential to grow a lot, especially given the current low market cap.

Let's see what the future holds for this project!



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Very interesting! I have never heard of this one before, but they clearly have a lot to offer. If they can deliver on everything that they are promising, it could be something really great! Thanks for covering this!

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IF they are going to deliver ... I think this could be a game-changer. I really like the fact that you don't need accounts on every exchange. I also like, my keys ... my crypto. And that they are able to search for the cheapest deal is not bad either. But yes, much will depend on how they keep up with their promises.

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Yes, those are definitely some good things. I think some other projects are working on things like this individually, but it would be cool to see it all in one place.

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never heard of it but i will search it, not that i can buy it :P

i also hate the part that they postponed things, especially when they are at their beginning!

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Yup, postponing is not the best in the beginning, but it would be more bad if they had delivered a half, not working product. That's even more bad IMO. Yah, about the buying opportunity ... that's not there for me either. Still it's something that I keep an eye on.

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Really sophisticated and ambitious project right there. Seems like a well thought out project. It should make it big if the team follows up with their promises. thanks for sharing.

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Very ambitious and well thought ... and I agree, IF the team really can deliver this product it could be a game-changer.

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I'm trying to concentrate on readying your post today but I'm too distracted by the hive pump :D types while dancing badly

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Very interesting. It would definitely make life a lot easier with all those features they have. It would be a crypto trader's dream to always get the best rates while storing them in your own secure wallet. I'll definitely keep it on my watch list and see how things go.

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Learning about Orion here is very interesting. In fact the combination of CEX and DEX is something more captivating. I'll read more on this project.

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Wow you really gave us an in-depth guide here, thank you for your time digging all this.
With a mainnet launched using EGLD, we can imagine the nice boost it could give it.
Let's see if they deliver, this sounds extremely difficult and they would need to convince brokers to join the dance.

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