Augur is a prediction market that is built on the decentralized platform of Ethereum blockchain.
Purpose to forecast an outcome of a certain event by using the ‘wisdom of the crowd’.
History
The introduction and utilization of prediction market are not new to the cryptocurrency world, but the advantages of the decentralized platform give augur a distinctive edge over the others.
Augur was one of the top 50 cryptocurrencies by the end of the last year, with a market cap worth of $217 million. Basically, a prediction market is a forecasting tool to predict outcome events. People use this tools to execute their trades based on the real world events, such as elections, sports etc.
The journey of the project began with an ICO in September 2015. The fund was used to develop the already released alpha version. It was a big hit and Augur established itself in the Ethereum blockchain in March 2016. The augur team is still working for the continuous development of the software.
Advantages
The main advantage of the augur is that it gives all the perks of a forecasting tool with an extra feature of decentralization. As a result, there are no single failure points to shut down the whole system. In the normal betting arena, there is a central authority to control everything. Augur allows every user to participate with an outcome of a future event from any part of the world. Participation means anything from asking a question to trade shares on the result of the outcome.
Token
The augur token name is Reputation ($REP).
The token is only used to report the outcomes of the event. Since the majority of the users don’t need that, it is not necessary for them to know about the token.
How does it work?
The protocol is pretty basic. Before the conclusion of an event, the users with reputation token submit reports on the outcome privately. At the time of conclusion, the full report is published and can be accessed by anyone. Then a consensus is generated on the outcome.
Users who made honest reports get rewarded with more Reputation. On the other hand, users who made false reports on the outcome loses Reputation. The funds of the event are hold in a smart contract. After the results are finalized, the smart contract executes itself to distribute the funds accordingly.
A trustless prediction platform for everyone. Reputation token can be purchased from any of the cryptocurrency exchange service, such as Poloniex, Bittrex, Kraken, etc. Users can use any of the ethereum based wallets to hold their REP tokens.
The challenges
The main challenge for the Augur team is to provide a cheaper, more secure and a better experience for the user. That is where the Reputation comes in to play.
Due to its protocol, the users are able to utilize a betting platform at much cheaper cost. In terms of security, the augur platform still has a long way to go if they want to achieve their goals.
They need to ensure their clients about the efficiency of the report mechanism.
Proper development of the system requires time and effort. But the early signs are positive for the Augur team, with a bright future in sight.
