5 Highlights From “Stablecoins Are Killing It” #18 — Featuring Josh Fraser with Origin Protocol & OUSD
Episode #18 featured Origin Protocol Co-Founder Josh Fraser discussing Origin’s stablecoin, OUSD.
You can watch the entire episode:
Or you can read our fivehighlights below:
1. Origin Protocol Was Launched In 2017 To Provide A Platform For Decentralized Marketplaces
The four reasons why Josh believes decentralized marketplaces are the future are:
- Centralized marketplaces like Uber and AirBnB charge significant fees. Eliminating those fees enables both the both buyer and seller to get a better price
- Marketplaces often struggle with censorship and regulation. Those problems go away if the marketplace is decentralized.
- Huge opportunity for cross border commerce and enable billions of people without bank accounts to buy and sell.
- Origin provides the opportunity for people to get a stake in the network which incentivizes usage.
Origin raised $38 million from funds like Pantera Capital and angel investors providing the capital to hire a great team out of traditional startups like Paypal, YouTube, and Dropbox.
Launching marketplaces highlighted the need for stablecoins to alleviate the price volatility that hurts either the buyer or seller given the volatility of most cryptocurrencies.
2. OUSD Is The First Stablecoin That Earns A Yield While It Sits In A Users Wallet
Users can mint OUSD on it’s Dapp using USDC, dai, or USDT; or OUSD can be bought via Uniswap today.
Behind the scenes, OUSD leveragesDeFi platforms, starting with Compound. Curve, and Aave and Uniswap will soon be added to optimize yield.
For the seven days prior to the call, that yield was 13%. To get that yield, users don’t need to stake stake a token or worry about custody issues. They just hold OUSD in their wallet and earn the yield.
As OUSD becomes fully decentralized, the community will decide the risk profile of the coin.
Today, when a new strategy is announced, OUSD gives its holders three days before the new strategy goes in to to effect.
3. The Competition Is Tether
OUSD is not competing with yield farms. OUSD sees Tether as the competition given it’s dominant market position.
While the plan is not to offer multiple coins in the near future, over time, Origin may offer other currencies like OEURO or OYEN.
Origin’s Community Is A Major Competitive Asset
There are over half a million people in the Origin community today. OGN will be the governance token for OUSD, and OGN holders are incentivized to care about OUSD. The Origin community is global, with Asia as the most active geography.
4. Origin Has An Elastic Supply
Like Ampleforth, Origin has an elastic supply. But, unlike Ampleforth, there is only positive rebasing, which represents the yield.
5. Origin Can Already Be Used To Buy Things
Origin operates Dshop, a customizable and open-source e-commerce platform that accepts OUSD in addition to Paypal, Stripe, and Uphold. Early Dshop customers include:
OUSD is like a reverse credit card fee for merchants, as there are no fees involved, and OUSD starts earning yield the moment it arrives in a merchant’s wallet.
There was lots of other great stuff in the show if you have the time.
Click here to register on Zoom for “Stablecoins Are Killing It” Episode #19 featuring Obyte Founder Tony Churyumoff.
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