We’ve been quite busy here at Orion and we have some wonderful news to share with the community. Before we go into our update, I would like to personally thank our passionate community for all of their support. We appreciate you and because of your immense belief in us, we are going above and beyond to make sure that Orion is one of the most promising blockchain projects of the year.
Tech Update -
Atomic Swaps
Orion joins different aspects of modern crypto trading into one easy to use protocol which consists of the following:
- Real-time connectivity to all major exchanges
- Standardized API to exchanges
- Price discovery tools
- Staking liquidity pool
- Atomic swaps enabling instant trading on Orion from the user’s cold wallet
Today we would like to present the first fully functional atomic swap solution already integrated into our Trading Terminal.
An atomic cross-chain swap allows users to start trading on Orion without the need to transfer funds to any trusted third party. After connecting their cold wallets to Orion, users deposit their special-purpose smart accounts, and a secret seed phrase is stored locally on the trader’s computer that is never submitted to any external servers. This is essential, as keeping the security of our users is our highest priority. The next step is to send the address with funds to Orion for auditing and creating a counter-party smart account.
The most important detail is that users still have full access to their account at this stage and can refund at any time. One of the main differences between Orion when compared to other exchanges, e.g. when you trade on Binance or Coinbase, is that you don’t own the funds you’ve deposited. On Orion you still have full control during the whole process of trading. Users are able to buy and sell any crypto assets, transfer funds to other accounts, and withdraw them to other external cold wallets at any time without the intervention of a third party.
Once Orion prepares the smart contract on its side the swapping procedure happens automatically without losing control of the asset. After the swap is finalized, Orion provides mutual crypto-credits to the trader to be able to buy and sell any available currencies on the platform within that limit. All provided credits are backed by crypto assets stored on Orion reserve accounts and acts as a medium of exchange currency that allows traders to utilize all of the available centralized/decentralized liquidity on the market, enabling fast cross chain trading without the need for trusted third parties.
This mechanism enables the best possible performance, security, and transparency combined with full available liquidity from brokers on the major centralized exchanges. We are excited to announce that atomic swaps between Bitcoin and Waves are currently available for testing on the Orion Trading Terminal in testnet mode. Support for Ethereum smart contracts (ERC-20) and Holo Fuel is in progress and expected to be completed very soon.
Marketing Update -
Orion redesign
We are proud to announce that Orion Protocol has undergone a full redesign including a new website, logo, and branding materials. Our devs have collaborated with a top Los Angeles based branding agency to bring our vision of Orion to fruition.
Modern color schemes and sleek font types accompany one another in an extraordinary design element that embodies our futuristic aesthetic.
Please check out our new look here.
Business Development Update -
We’ve been so hard at work that we felt like it was time to expand our team and add some very talented individuals to help us build out our vision for Orion. We are pleased to announce the following additions to our team.
Technical Team -
Simon Kruse - Backend Developer
Enthusiasts will recognize our newest developer from many other projects such as BountyOx and Block Collider. Simon has become quite a familiar face in the crypto community from helping several top projects with management, advisory, and dev work.
Software developer, ambassador, and blockchain fanatic, Simon has many years of experience in planning and developing complex software projects. Simon is an avid bug hunter with an intense focus on security, making him a perfect fit for the Orion team.
Eduardo Moreira — Head of Development
Eduardo is a world renowned technologist having worked on major projects in several continents. He holds an MBA from the Nottingham University Business School and is the CEO and founder of his own development firm, EYSS. Eduardo also has many years of experience as an IT Director in various multinational companies, but is now focused on helping others achieve efficiencies and positive market disruptions by using advanced technology.
Eduardo and his firm EYSS is closely meshed within the Holochain ecosystem, including intimate links to Holo’s team. Eduardo and EYSS is responsible for being the leaders of the Holochain movement in Latin America, having educated several developers and community members in awareness of the superior tech of Holo.
Advisors -
Damon Nam
Damon Nam is a 20 year IT professional, Microsoft alumnus, and currently the Founder and CEO of Coinvest; an emerging financial services and technology company in the blockchain industry.
During his 16 year tenure at Microsoft, he assumed a number of different roles within the Microsoft Services organization. Among these roles were Technical Account Manager, Resource Manager and lastly US Services Program Director where he was responsible for driving and managing the Preferred Services Partner program for the US subsidiary; a program with approximately seventy-five partner organizations and a total book of business of over $90 million in revenue.
Damon studied Information Technology and has a Bachelor of Science in Business at Southern Methodist University.
Jingyuan Ye
Jingyuan is the chairman of prominent digital asset management firm, Point95 Global. With over 10 years of experience in trading and portfolio management, he served as the chairman of PPS International Holdings Ltd (a HK listed company), Bank of America Merrill Lynch where he was the Vice President of Global Market Division, responsible for the risk and portfolio management of Equity Structured Products for EMEA.
He is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA), and received a BSc (Hons) in Mathematics, Operational Research, Statistics, and Economics from University of Warwick, United Kingdom. He also received a MSc in Applied Statistics from the University of Oxford, United Kingdom.
Special Announcement -
We saved some interesting news for last. This may be a terribly kept secret being that a few of the community members have already figured this out, but we are officially building Orion Protocol on Holochain.
It has been an amazing journey so far for Orion and after consulting with our wonderful advisor David Atkinson of Holo we’ve decided to build out the project on the Holochain platform. With the addition of our Head of Development Eduardo Moriera, he is bringing his expertise in Holochain development to our team to help push Orion to the next level.
After revealing our decision to build on Holochain to a few early community members, it was evident to us that this was best for Orion.
Many have already reached out to us in praise, with feedback stating that:
“Orion is going to be a vital part of the hApp ecosystem and the crypto space in general.”
While others are eagerly expressing that:
“Orion is the most exciting project being built on the Holochain platform and is leading the way for hApps to follow suit.”
We are certainly amongst the most excited individuals for Orion as we aren’t just team members, but also crypto community members that see the true necessity for Orion.
We are constantly updating our Holochain code and we invite you to take a look here at our Github.
Private Presale -
Orion is soon going to be starting their private presale round that will be for strategic contributors and VCs alike, as several large investment firms have already voiced their desire to contribute to Orion. To apply for a spot to participate, please fill out the application here.
Evangelist Round -
Aside from the interest from VCs, we have an amazing community that have supported us from day one and as a thank you, we will soon be running a round for our die-hard supporters. We will allow these evangelists to participate in a small personal cap sale with favorable terms. To apply for this round, please fill out the application here.
Thank you so much for your time and for your support of Orion Protocol. We would not be here without your support and belief in our vision. We would also like to thank our amazing advisors and Amanda and Paul from the Holo team, for their immense support in helping us design and develop the most promising project being built on Holochain. Stay tuned for more updates.
Website: https://www.orionprotocol.io
Telegram: https://t.me/orionprotocol
White paper: https://www.orionprotocol.io/whitepaper.pdf
Pitch deck: https://www.orionprotocol.io/pitchdeck.pdf
Inquiries: please contact kal@orionprotocol.io.
Ps - there is a very “interesting” Easter egg hidden in this article that shows a sneak peak of what we have been ardently working on. When you find it, you’ll be happy you did.
