Origin Protocol (OGN)

What is Origin Protocol (OGN)?

Origin Protocol provides a platform for building peer-to-peer marketplaces and e-commerce applications. Users can buy or sell goods and services on these marketplaces, and developers can create their own applications powered by the Origin blockchain. The Origin token (“OGN”) is used as an incentive, payment, and governance token in the Origin ecosystem.

Origin’s mission is to enable true peer-to-peer commerce.

At its core proposition, Origin features:

• Lower Fees: Buyers and sellers can save more when middlemen are removed.
• Better Incentives: Anyone can own a stake in the network by contributing to its growth by referring new users, driving transactions, promoting listings, and building applications.
• Increased Access: Markets are accessible to even the unbanked population.
• Censorship Resilience: Peer-to-peer marketplaces are difficult to ban or shut down.

#Some of its key elements include:

• Raised 38.1MM USD via private & public token sales from November 2017 to July 2018
• Ethereum-based platform for building peer-to-peer marketplaces
• Implemented meta-transactions so normal users no longer need to pay Ethereum gas fees

Some of its key highlights include:

• Improved User Experience: Origin is one of the first projects to implement meta-transactions on Ethereum, which aims to save users from paying Ethereum gas fees for all transactions, and therefore simplifying the user experience.
• User & Developer Traction: As of writing, over 30,000 Ethereum wallets have registered on the marketplace platform with approximately 2,000 transactions of goods and services (e.g., homeshare rentals, e-commerce sales). More than 170 developers have contributed to the project on GitHub, and the team has also gathered more than 50 volunteer translators who have made the Origin dApp available in 20 languages.
• Developer Platform: Origin provides open source protocols, developer libraries, marketplace creator tools, and end-user applications to improve the user experience of all platform participants.
• Team & Investors: The project is led by serial entrepreneurs and seasoned team members from PayPal, YouTube, Google, DropBox, etc., and has received backing from top investors such as Pantera Capital and Foundation Capital, as well as from individuals like Steve Chen, the founder of YouTube.

Economics and supply

Key metrics

Token supply distribution

• Advisor Sale tokens comprise 4.38% of the total token supply.
• Strategic Sale tokens comprise 23.75% of total token supply.
• CoinList Sale tokens comprise 4.84% of the total token supply.
• Team tokens comprise 20.24% of total token supply.
• Advisor Grants tokens comprise 1.69% of total token supply.
• Foundation Reserves tokens comprise 31.37% of total token supply.
• Ecosystem Growth Funds tokens comprise 12.99% of total token supply.
• Long-term Partnerships tokens comprise 0.73% of total token supply.

Advisor Sale Overview

• The Advisor Sale was conducted on Nov 10th 2017 at a rate of 0.0685 USD / OGN and raised a total of 3.00MM USD, selling 4.38% of total token supply. The Advisor Sale was conducted in USD only.

Strategic Sale Overview

• The Strategic Sale was conducted from Jan 12th 2018 to Apr 9th 2018 for 0.1200 USD / OGN at an average rate of 1,002 USD = 1 ETH and 10,926 USD = 1 BTC, and raised a total of 25.51MM USD, for 23.75% of the total token supply. The Strategic Sale was conducted in ETH, BTC, and USD, and raised a total of 16,895 ETH, 167 BTC, and 9,752,331 USD.

CoinList Sale Overview

• The CoinList Sale was conducted from Jun 18th 2018 to July 31st 2018 for 0.1364 USD / OGN at an average rate of 426 USD = 1 ETH and 5,890 USD = 1 BTC and raised a total of 6.60MM USD, for 4.84% of the total token supply. The CoinList Sale raised a total of 10,261 ETH, 89 BTC, and 1,704,604 USD.

Token governance and use of funds

As of writing, Origin has used approximately 7.50MM USD (21.70%) of token sale funds according to the allocations below:

• 0.50% Partnerships
• 2.00% Marketing
• 35.00% Team
• 35.00% Development
• 15.00% Professional Services & Legal
• 4.00% Office Rent
• 8.50% Other

Origin utilizes Gnosis multisig wallets for secure storage of crypto assets, as well as sharing ownership of various smart contracts. Fiat reserves are stored in USD bank accounts.

OGN Token release schedule

The following chart represents the number and breakdown of all OGN tokens that are to be released into circulation on a monthly basis. The Foundation Reserves tokens will continue to be released after July 2024.

OGN token overview and use-cases

OGN is the native utility token used to power the Origin platform, enable incentive systems, payments, and future governance mechanisms.

• Rewards: Users are rewarded with OGN when earning cashback on purchases, verifying identities, promoting Origin on social media, and referring new users to the platform.
• Commissions/Advertising: Sellers pay OGN commissions to application developers to promote their listings and gain higher visibility on marketplace and e-commerce applications to generate more sales.
• Payments: Buyers can pay sellers with OGN in exchange for receiving goods and services.
• Staking: The Origin team is currently researching and developing new staking models that will generate yields for token holders in exchange for powering and supporting other parts of the network.
• Governance: The OGN token will also have governance functionalities in the future.

Roadmap, updates, and business development

Original roadmap and achievements

Updated roadmap

Q1 2020

• Launch of Mainnet 1.0
• Enable OGN payment between buyers and sellers
• Onboard additional partners to peer-to-peer marketplace and e-commerce store creators
• Enable off-chain payments to reduce buyer friction and increase network transaction volume

Q2 2020

• Launch additional marketplace and e-commerce applications on top of the Origin platform
• Research and launch new staking and reward use cases for OGN targeted at end users, merchants, and affiliates, as well as infrastructure providers and developers

Q3 2020

• Upgrade self-serve marketplace and e-commerce store creators
• Launch of new developer tools and APIs to enable more types of dApps

Q4 2020

• Enable governance features of the OGN token

Commercial partnerships and business development progress

• Trips Community: Trips Community is an Italian homesharing company founded in 2011. Trips is building its marketplace application on the Origin platform.
• ZoidPay: ZoidPay is a crypto payment platform whose flagship marketplace, ZoidShop, is powered by the Origin platform.
• Hubris One: Hubris One is a cryptocurrency wallet which has built its e-commerce store using Origin’s marketplace creator tool.
• TrustToken: TrustToken is a stablecoin issuer. TrueUSD and other stablecoins from TrustToken will be supported by Origin’s platform and marketplaces built on it. In addition, TrustToken’s e-commerce store will be powered by Origin.
• MakerDAO: MakerDAO is a DeFi lending platform and the issuer of stablecoin DAI. DAI is supported by Origin’s platform and marketplaces.
• Circle: Circle is the issuer of the USDC stablecoin. USDC will be supported by Origin’s platform and marketplaces.
• imToken: imToken is a Ethereum wallet provider. The OGN token is supported by imToken; imtoken has also conducted a Chinese Singles Day partnership campaign on the Origin flagship marketplace app.
• SLife: SLife is a Chinese marketplace company; Slife has conducted a Chinese Singles Day partnership campaign on the Origin flagship marketplace app.
• GitCoin: GitCoin is a crowdfunding and freelancing developer platform. GitCoin is running its e-commerce store on the Origin platform.
• CryptoMerch: CryptoMerch is a crypto swag and merchandise store built using Origin’s marketplace creator tool.
• PeerArt: PeerArt is a P2P art marketplace built using Origin’s marketplace creator tool.
• Bitberry: Bitberry is a Korea-based multi-purpose cryptocurrency wallet service run by RootOne. The OGN token is supported by Bitberry.
• Paktor: Paktor is a dating app focusing on the Asian market. Paktor has conducted a cryptography-themed dating event with Origin in Singapore.

Project team

Development activity

GitHub overview

Origin has 24 public repos. The vast majority of the core development activity took place in Origin’s monorepo.

Key Public Github Repositories

Origin

Origin monorepo

161 Contributors10,883 commits

test-builds

Test builds of the Origin dApp

13 Contributors219 commits

origin-website

The code behind originprotocol.com

35 Contributors2,241 commits

Products and metrics

Origin Platform Architecture

The Origin platform enables buyers and sellers to connect across various applications and transact directly without intermediaries. Sellers post listings on and pay OGN commissions to the Origin flagship mobile application or third-party applications.

All relevant data will be written to the shared data layer on the Ethereum blockchain and IPFS network. The shared data layer enables multiple applications to surface seller listings across the distributed network. Applications and other affiliates (e.g., influencers, bloggers, publishers in the future) promote seller listings in order to capture OGN commissions.

The platform also utilizes multiple middleware and infrastructure services, including the Origin Node (a caching and search layer), the meta-transactions relayer (to subsidize gas fees and drive user adoption), and arbitration services. End users are incentivized to promote and drive transactions on the Origin network through Origin Rewards (from the Ecosystem Growth Funds).

Origin Product Offerings

Origin has built a suite of products to serve the peer-to-peer marketplace and e-commerce markets.

Origin’s products include, but are not limited to the following:

• Origin flagship marketplace application (mobile applications and web application)
• Origin decentralized e-commerce store platform
• Origin peer-to-peer marketplace creator
• Origin vertical marketplaces, including gift cards, video live streaming, crypto art, and crypto merchandise exchanges
• Origin Node (caching and search layer of the network)
• Origin smart contracts including the Marketplace contract, ERC-20 token contract, Identity contract, etc.

Social and community data

Current community growth strategies of Origin Protocol include:

China

• AMAs with diverse communities to share the project’s vision, technology stack, and token use cases. AMA partners include Unitimes, 499block, Tokengazer, and BW.
• Partnership with imToken and local company SLife, which runs multiple marketplaces such as vacation rentals marketplace Ructrip.
• Built 10+ Wechat groups to to stay engaged with the community.
• Meetups and roadshows.
• Consistent media coverage with third party articles.

Korea

• Attending conferences such as Tokenized Conference 2018, and Blockchain Open Forum 2018.
• Interviews with local media and community partners including HKB News Korea, ZDnet Korea, IT Chosun, Decenter, KryptoSeoul, Soso Lab, and Token Post Korea.
• Hosting dApp demo events showcasing Origin’s flagship marketplace application.
• Organizing local meetups, AMAs, and other online events to strengthen the Korean community.

US

• Interview with Fortune Magazine, Techcrunch, Forbes, CoinDesk, and other media outlets.
• Speaking at conferences/meetups including SF Blockchain Week, World Blockchain Forum New York, and KryptoSF.
• Partnering with Blockfolio for Origin Rewards airdrop campaign.

Russia

• Consistent community engagement with the community in online groups and local meetups.

Southeast Asia

• Hosting Local Meetups for community grwoth.

Future community growth strategies of Origin Protocol include:

China

• Hiring additional full-time community managers.
• Partnering with crypto wallets and local marketplace operators to increase the utility value of the OGN token and overall brand awareness.
• KOL engagement to increase the size of community.

Korea

• Hiring additional full-time community managers.
• Working with local KOLs to create localized content.
• Onboarding more local marketplaces operators and sellers.

US

• Onboarding marketplace operators and crypto projects that are interested in deploying Origin’s e-commerce store creator.
• Running user interviews and programs to drive long-term user acquisition and retention.

Russia

• Hiring and engaging with developers and marketplace operators.
• KOL engagement to increase the size of community.

Southeast Asia

• Building a dedicated Vietnamese Telegram channel.
• Local AMAs and interviews with KOLs.

Community and social channels (Data as of January 7th 2020)

Blockfolio (English) | 41.2K Subscribers
Twitter (English) | 18.1K Followers
Telegram (English) | 13.4K Members
Facebook (English) | 6.6K Followers
Instagram (English) | 4.0K Followers
Reddit | 2.1K Members
Youtube | 1.2K Subscribers
Medium (English) | 1.8K Followers

Appendix

Advisors

• Joey Krug | Pantera Capital, Co-Chief Investment Officer / Augur, Co-Founder
• Paul Veradittakit | Pantera Capital, Partner
• Melody He | Spartan Group, Co-Founder & Partner
• Andrew Hyde | Startup Week & Startup Weekend (TechStars), Founder
• Addison Huegel | Ethereum Foundation, Communications Consultant