OST technology powers Pepo: The social app for the crypto community

OST (“Open Simple Token”) technology enables developers to seamlessly embed Ethereum layer-2 wallets into mainstream applications to empower users, increase engagement and drive new business models. The Pepo app showcases OST tech in a fun & useful app for the crypto community.

Pepo features 30 second videos by crypto industry makers and enthusiasts, with tokens of appreciation. Tokens are used in the app to support and thank makers (each “like” automatically transfers a token to the maker), for curation and personalization, and soon for replies, messaging and bonding curves.

We launched Pepo in beta just a few weeks ago at Ethereum Devcon5 and more than 25% of the conference participants used the app. Since then growth and usage of Pepo has been phenomenal, exceeding our wildest expectations; the initial few thousand users have already made more than 48,000 decentralized peer-to-peer transactions. We couldn’t be more thrilled that the community has jumped onto Pepo so enthusiastically.

We’ve heard users describing Pepo as a cross between TikTok and LinkedIn, and we’ve received encouraging feedback on the speed and smooth user experience. We loved how Simona Pop of Bounties put it — that Pepo is “the first dapp that feels like an app.” And while we’re proud of offering an experience that masks the blockchain so our community doesn’t have to face obstacles to start creating immediately, we’ve also realized that because of this, our users may not know how Pepo works.

The secret to Pepo is the OST

Pepo is powered by OST technology, an application layer for building on top of Ethereum. With the first embeddable Ethereum wallet SDK, OST is the technology that enables Pepo’s easy UX, from the simple onboarding, to the seamless micro-transactions, to the Apple-approved in-app purchase of tokens and cash-out options.

OST Provides developers with server-side SDKs and wallet SDKs.

• OST server-side SDKs (available in PHP, Java, Ruby, and Node.js) enable developers to easily have any in-app action trigger a token transfer (e.g. any like, upvote, comment, 4 star review).
• OST wallet SDKs (available in iOS, Android, and React Native) enables a feature-rich yet easy-to-use Ethereum layer-2 smart contract to be embedded into any application, so that end-users can earn, hold, and transfer tokens with security and ease. The wallet SDKs are also open sourced.

Building Pepo on OST means there’s no need for external wallets or extra pop-ups — users can easily join the app and immediately start using tokens to engage with content and with other users.

Pepo was launched first into the crypto community. But, thanks to the OST technology, Pepo users don’t actually have to know it’s crypto or blockchain. This easy user experience even prompted Decrypt to write that “Pepo shows that blockchain is ready for primetime.”

The OST Wallet SDK is non-custodial, meaning people on Pepo own their keys. Neither Pepo nor OST has access to user tokens. And in case a user loses their device, there’s a 6-digit PIN for smart recovery (from smart contract). No pen and paper for writing down 12 words required.

OST technology also enables key features in Pepo such as session keys that allow meta transactions to take place without users having to manually sign every transaction.

Pepo users are able to earn and even purchase Pepo Coins in-app. These coins exist on OST’s public Ethereum sidechains and are valued 1:1 to the market-determined price of the OST token on Ethereum mainnet.

Users can also choose to convert their Pepo Coins into stable “Unicorns” worth $1 each, which can be cashed-out of the app with options such as for store credit at Uber, Grab, Amazon, AirBnB, and more.

These features, enabled by OST technology, helped make Pepo the first crypto-powered app to win approval from Apple for in-app purchases. This was made possible thanks to OST, which put the work in so that new apps don’t have to: apps like Pepo that are built using OST technology are regulatory and FINCEN compliant, with no additional licenses needed. That means app developers can focus on their users and their business models and leave the complex blockchain technology and regulatory compliance to us.

Peer-to-Peer Plug-and-Play

I recently delivered a keynote presentation at San Francisco Blockchain Week to highlight the user research and technology architecture that went into designing and developing Pepo.

Every single day, we are proving that tokens have utility and that there are good use cases possible, and that we can actually create apps that are made better through their token use — not a detrimental experience but a better experience because of the crypto involved.

Until OST, the community lacked a plug-and-play solution that could enable scalable transactions. Now, with OST, any developer can simply insert a few lines of code and blockchain-enable any application, with a gorgeous and blazing fast user experience, as demonstrated with Pepo.

OST’s technology is live and in use and the OST wallet SDK is available open source. It allows anyone to launch their own layer-2 Ethereum-based token in minutes and embed it into their app. That’s what we did at Pepo and why the app is so fast. OST makes micro-transactions possible by solving for scaling. Applications can easily integrate and run hundreds of transactions per second at near zero cost on layer-2 Ethereum blockchains while all transactions are finalized on Ethereum layer-1.

I encourage you to try the Ost developer tools at dev.ost.com — you can integrate cryptocurrency microtransactions into any app without any prior blockchain coding skills.

You can download the Pepo app today in Apple’s app store or on Google Play. You’ll need a Twitter account to login for now, and then it’s easy to get started!

🦄 see you on Pepo!