Top Things You Should Know About OriginTrail (TRAC)
Hey guys, Iām back with another comprehensive Q&A piece, this time for the blockchain-based supply chain protocol ā OriginTrail (TRAC).
OriginTrail is an open-source protocol that creates an ecosystem dedicated to making global supply chains work by enabling trusted data sharing between companies, organizations, and blockchains.
Now, before we dive in, the following piece is similar to my latest articles on Numerai (NMR), Hegic (HEGIC), and Ocean Protocol (OCEAN), so if you havenāt already seen those, be sure to check them out as well.
Hope you enjoy!
The list of Q&A is kind of long so first comes the list of questions that I have prepared the answers to:
- What is OriginTrail?
- Who and When Created OriginTrail?
- What is $TRAC Token Used For?
- What is the main Product of OriginTrail?
- Who utilizes OriginTrail's Solutions?
- What are some major accomplishments by OriginTrail?
- Where to Store $TRAC?
- Where to Buy & Sell $TRAC?
1. What is OriginTrail?
OriginTrail website homepage
OriginTrail is a blockchain-based global supply chain protocol dedicated to making global supply chains work together by enabling a universal, collaborative, and trusted data exchange.
It enables trusted data sharing between companies, organizations, and blockchains through a fully decentralized blockchain network, monitored with AI and oracles to provide valuable insights for businesses and consumers.
In doing this, OriginTrail solves five major problems in supply chain businesses today:
1) Poor interoperability of data across supply chains or business partners.
2) Inefficiencies in storing and searching highly interconnected data between organizations.
3) Reluctance to exchange sensitive data with partners in a secure manner.
4) Cost & scalability of reliable blockchain-based supply chain technology.
5) Lack of decentralized database solutions in fragmented supply chains.
To help solve these problems, the OriginTrail ecosystem was built on 3 main pillars:
Neutrality
OriginTrail is a decentralized, open-source system thatās based on globally recognized GS1 and W3C data standards and works with other blockchain ecosystems and solutions as well. The neutrality this provides is crucial for the OriginTrail ecosystem as it prevents vendor lock-ins and ensures integrity.
Usability
OriginTrail puts a strong emphasis on enhancing the user experience and management of supply chain data collected, traced, and distributed through the OriginTrail Decentralized Network (ODN).
Inclusiveness
OriginTrail continues to form meaningful partnerships with technological and business global leaders who can implement and benefit from OriginTrailās technology. OriginTrail is also designing technical infrastructure as well as business models to support the adoption of its supply chain technology stack in diverse business communities.
2. Who and When Created OriginTrail?
OriginTrail founders ā Tomaž Levak, Žiga Drev, Branimir RakiÄ
OriginTrail was founded by Tomaž Levak, Žiga Drev, and Branimir RakiÄ all the way back in 2011 when they started testing their early tracking methods with organic beef products.
From there, OriginTrail expanded over the years to tracking other food products such as dairy, poultry, and vegetable supply chains.
It wasnāt until 2016, that OriginTrail introduced a trial blockchain into their system to attain data integrity. Then, in December 2018, they launched the OriginTrail Decentralized Network and raised $22.5 million in their $TRAC token initial coin offering (ICO).
Getting back to OriginTrailās founders:
Tomaž Levak, founder and managing director of OriginTrail, is a member of the Ethereum Enterprise Alliance Supply Chain working group and has extensive experience managing tech projects in Europe and the Middle East. Levak holds a Masterās degree in Human Resources Management and a Bachelorās degree in International Relations.
Žiga Drev, also a founder and managing director of OriginTrail, has experience managing complex supply chain setups in Europe and Asia. Drev holds an MBA in Business Administration and a Bachelorās degree in International Relations.
Branimir RakiÄ, founder and CTO of OriginTrail, has been advocating the integration of blockchain technology into supply chains since 2016 and holds an MSC in Electrical and Computer Engineering.
3. What is $TRAC Token Used For?
OriginTrail logo
The native cryptocurrency of the OriginTrail protocol is Trace (TRAC) ā an Ethereum-based ERC-20 token that enables data operations on the OriginTrail Decentralized Network.
TRAC is utilized on the OriginTrail Decentralized Network (ODN) in four ways:
- Engaging in the OriginTrail Ecosystem
- Publishing Data to the ODN
- Collateralization by Data Holders
- ODN Data Marketplace and Tokenization of Data
Engaging in the OriginTrail Ecosystem
In order to take part in the OriginTrail ecosystem, data creators and data holders must have TRAC staked in their nodes. The more TRAC thatās staked on their nodes, the more data jobs they can take or hold.
Publishing Data to the ODN
Data creators can only publish data jobs on the ODN when they compensate 3+ nodes with TRAC for their time and resources. The amount of TRAC required to publish data jobs varies and is dependent on parameters like job length and data size.
Collateralization by Data Holders
As mentioned above, data holders must stake TRAC to engage in the ODN. The staked TRAC is locked via a smart contract for the length of the data job to prevent data tampering and as a promise to hold data for a set period of time.
Failure to provide data on-demand leads to the loss of staked TRAC. When the data job is complete, the data holder gets their original stake back and earns the TRAC staked by the data creator.
ODN Data Marketplace and Tokenization of Data
TRAC is also used in a data marketplace where data creators can sell their data on the open market for TRAC. The type of data in the data marketplace might include: industrial data for food certification, pharmaceutical data, satellite imagery data, and more.
The data marketplace has the potential to unlock valuable proprietary siloed data previously thought unsellable.
4. What is the main Product of OriginTrail?
(Source)
The main product of OriginTrail is its open-source blockchain protocol for secure and interconnected supply chains that allow businesses to seamlessly exchange data with efficiency and integrity.
The OriginTrail protocol features a technology stack that enables supply chain businesses to build a quick, easy, and effective solution for seamless data exchange between companies with safety and integrity.
OriginTrail Technology Stack:
Application Layer
A wide range of decentralized applications (dapps) can be built on top of OriginTrail to increase efficiency and integrity in supply chain management, insurance, banking, and other industries.
ODN Data Layer
A decentralized graph database connects datasets across supply chains. All data is based on globally recognized GS1 and W3C data standards to ensure interoperability across all systems and blockchains, and sensitive data is protected using a zero-knowledge privacy sublayer.
ODN Network Layer
OriginTrail has its own off-blockchain network to vastly improve scalability. It uses a decentralized network of nodes that enables key blockchain-like capabilities that are relevant for supply chains focused on data governance and accessibility.
Blockchain Layer
While the ODN Network is off of the Ethereum blockchain, each data set is immutably fingerprinted on the Ethereum blockchain with cryptographic hashes.
Combining all of the layers above, the OriginTrail protocol and the ODN has been built from the ground up with four core features:
Interoperability & Data Integrity
OriginTrail enables seamless and automatic data connection and interoperability between different IT systems by taking advantage of globally recognized GS1 and W3C standards. To ensure data integrity, OriginTrailās Decentralized Network (ODN) provides a āzero-knowledgeā method to prove data validity.
Scalability & Cost Efficiency
Existing blockchain solutions are slow and expensive when it comes to data operations but OriginTrailās protocol keeps data off-chain on the ODN network and tailors it specifically for supply-chain sharing needs.
Data Immutability
OriginTrail publishes data with a cryptographic hash onto the immutable Ethereum blockchain to verify that data has not been modified in any way.
Token Incentivisation
The OriginTrail ecosystem is enabled by the tokenization of data exchange and supply chain processing functionalities. It uses an innovative staking system to keep all parties honest and rewards data creators and data holders for delivering data on demand.
5. Who utilizes OriginTrail's Solutions?
(Source)
OriginTrail already powers trusted data exchange in a variety of different industries, including Fortune 500 companies. Some exciting case studies of OriginTrailās solutions in action include:
BSI and SCAN - Ensuring the Validity and Integrity o Security Audits
(Source)
British Standards Institution (BSI) and SCAN are utilizing the OriginTrail protocol to ensure the integrity of security audits for some of the largest US importers.
All of the audits are secured utilizing the OriginTrail Decentralized Network and comply with SCANās rigorous data privacy requirements.
Perutnina Ptuj - Food Traceability
(Source)
The Perutnina Ptuj app enables consumers to trace poultry back to the farm so they can make informed purchase decisions and support sustainable farming practices.
1017 ALYX 9SM brand - Fashion & Apparel Traceability
(Source)
Matthew Williams, the fashion designer behind the 1017 ALYX 9SM brand is using OriginTrail to enable consumers to track his products all the way from the factory to the point-of-sale. This is done by scanning a unique digital code on an item's label with a smartphone.
SBB, Swiss Federal Railways - Rail Travel Safety
(Source)
The Swiss national rail company is using OriginTrail to trace the origin of individual parts involved in their systems to deliver one of the world's most reliable railways.
6. What are some major accomplishments by OriginTrail?
OriginTrail Awards
OriginTrail has won three notable awards:
- Food Safety Innovation Spark Award 2017 - Walmart (Beijing, China)
- Open Data Incubator for Europe Winner 2016 - Open Data Incubator Europe
- Food+City Challenge Prize Winner 2017 (Austin, Texas) - Food+City
Another notable achievement of OriginTrail is the pushing of blockchain solutions in the European Union:
OriginTrail founder, Žiga Drev speaking at the Smart Villages panel with Senior EU Officials
OriginTrail attended a panel on the Smart Villages Initiative where OriginTrail co-founder, Žiga Drev, highlighted how new technologies could affect agriculture, with blockchain-enabled data integrity offering new opportunities for visibility and fighting unfair practices.
7. Where to Store $TRAC?
MetaMask wallet website homepage
OriginTrail (TRAC) is an ERC-20 token residing on top of the public Ethereum blockchain. That said, you can store TRAC in any ERC-20 token supported wallet.
However, the best wallets for storing TRAC are non-custodial Web3 wallets that provide seamless access to the best DeFi applications, like Uniswap and Balancer.
That said, DeFi wallets are the best for storing TRAC because the token is widely used and supported in the Ethereum-DeFi ecosystem.
Popular OriginTrail (TRAC) Wallets:
- Trust Wallet (mobile)
- Argent (mobile)
- Coinbase Wallet (mobile)
- MyEtherWallet (MEW) (web)
- Metamask (web)
In addition to the above-listed wallets, OriginTrail (TRAC) can be stored on a wide variety of other reputable wallets supporting ERC-20 tokens.
8. Where to Buy & Sell $TRAC?
OriginTrail (TRAC) can be bought and sold on a peer-to-peer (P2P) basis but the most popular way to buy, sell, or trade $TRAC is through centralized and decentralized cryptocurrency exchanges.
You can buy and sell TRAC with cryptocurrency or fiat currency at the following top DEXes and exchanges. In most cases, you will be able to buy TRAC with BTC, ETH, or stablecoins.
- Uniswap - WETH
- Balancer - WETH
- Nash Exchange - BTC, USDC
- KuCoin - BTC, ETH
- Bittrex - BTC, ETH, USDT
In addition to the exchanges listed above, OrginTrail (TRAC) is also traded on a variety of other exchanges and platforms that enable people to buy, sell, or trade cryptocurrencies.
Hope you enjoyed that read, Let me know if I have missed something in the comments.
Cryptocurrency Ethereum (ETH) Blockchain Technology Supply chain OriginTrail (TRAC)
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