Astute observations.  It’s not #1 and while #2 would be evil-genius clever, it’s not the issue either.  (Wire troubles mean neither Tether nor Bitfinex can wire funds to Kraken to buy up all the cheap tethers). :-(

Hey squatz1,

You can check out the Tether white paper at https://tether.to/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/Tether-White-Paper.pdf

It explains the method by which the USD₮ tokens are pegged to the 1:1 fiat currency reserve.

Craig

Like I said, we’ve been around a while, although I don’t check bitcointalk as often as I probably should.

So, the software version is 0.0.12.  Omni Core has been around for just under two years now with zero reports of lost, corrupted, etc wallets or coins (0.0.12 came about maybe three weeks ago).  The next version will be 0.2 (yes, I know these are entirely arbitrary), but the developers decided that after this long, we need to bump it a bit to look a bit less alpha-y.  That being said, the developers take their responsibility extremely seriously, and lots of people complain that Omni progress is slow, but it’s slow due to the absurd amount of testing we do on each feature before we activate them (we even release features in the software that aren’t yet activated so that we can continue testing them in a non-consensus-breaking manner before activating the feature dynamically for the installed user base).

I use it daily (on a Mac) - the same builds we provide to everyone else.  I honestly doubt anything I say can sway someone being cautious, because the warning is there and the developers think it should be.  Maybe in the next release it will get removed, but I’d still recommend that people dealing with large amounts of funds be wary and cautious of *any* crypto software out there.  You’re installing software that (in some cases) can hold the vast majority of someone’s wealth.  That should scare the hell out of all of us.

All I can say is this: I am a regular user of the desktop client, and there are (evidently) thousands of others running as well (based on our download counts).  If you prefer, there is always Omniwallet.org (web wallet) that you could use instead (user controlled keys, client-side decryption and signing), or hosted wallets like HolyTransaction.  Obviously I wouldn’t recommend holding your coins at an exchange that supports Omni, but those are the existing options.  The good news is, all wallet control and the vast majority of RPC in the client literally *is* Bitcoin Core, so I trust it as much as I trust Bitcoin Core.

I hope you have a good experience with it.  Let me know what you think if you eventually fire it up.

Cheers,
Craig

Howdy - Craig from Omni here.  I forgot that that screen even existed.  We just wanted everyone to understand that everything in this space is experimental and at your own risk.  However, the software behind Omni Core is used by Bitfinex, Tether, Poloniex, Shapeshift, Kraken, Bittrex, BTC-E, Exodus Wallet, Jaxx, HolyTransaction, AmbiSafe, and probably many others I can’t think of right now.

If you have any questions, check out reddit.com/r/romni or hit me up on here.  

The project was originally called Mastercoin and ran the first (and second) decentralized crowd sale.  We’ve been around a long while with rock-solid software.  I hope you enjoy using it.

Craig

It’s happening.

Craig

Once the activation transaction is broadcast (and the dynamic fee feature is turned on), OMNI holders will be paid transaction fees on the decentralized exchange.

Craig

Omni (omnilayer.org, reddit.com/r/omni) is a meta-asset layer and smart-contract platform that runs on top of the Bitcoin blockchain.  It’s been around since 2013 (originally called Mastercoin).  It was the platform for the world’s first two decentralized crowdsales (Mastercoin and Maidsafe), the first decentralized exchange, and the first managed-asset issuance platform.  It provides asset issuers a way to create tokens (both in fixed quantity and variable/managed quantity, a la Tether) which can be held in a normal Bitcoin address, and provides automated decentralized crowd sale and exchange functionality.  Up and coming features are address tagging (precursor to decentralized identity) and something we call “uniquely identifiable tokens."

You can think of Omni as an extension to Bitcoin, providing a logic layer on top without requiring Bitcoin consensus changes.  It adds functionality to Bitcoin.

Craig

The difficulty is the same that Bitfinex is having - international wires to and from Taiwan are blocked.  This means that while the reserve is in surplus, only Taiwanese customers can actually redeem tethers at 1:1.  (This includes Bitfinex, who has Taiwanese banks as well).  No one being able to move funds to Kraken also means that those in Taiwan who would otherwise be filling the gap (and thus “defending the peg”) are unable to do so (but I hear that people are in Taiwan getting this set up to take advantage of this).

It’s an extremely frustrating scenario, for sure.  I do feel this is an attack on crypto companies, though - my guess is that after the asian banks, the european ones will be next and we’ll see this expand to include more blockchain business being unable to move funds.  I hope not, but this is what it feels like.

I absolutely would not say that Taiwan’s regulations are “slack” - they’re actually higher than most international standards, and Tether’s KYC/AML policies are even stricter beyond that.

Craig

Obviously the trust required will be minimized as much as is possible.  What would the community think about “decentralized audits” of the bank accounts, using a method of cryptographic signatures coming from the banks/vaults involved that can be third-party verified?

Craig

This type of money supply manipulation would not be accepted by the community (tethers are backed assets, not pegged assets).

The tether creation/destruction events are recorded on the blockchain, for starters.  In order to retain the trust of the community, the amount of tethers in circulation could never be bigger than the number of dollars in the reserve.  If the number of tethers on the blockchain exceeded the number of dollars in the reserve (entering fractional reserve territory), the entire premise of the token, and the trust of the community would be lost.

Craig

I’d be concerned with the moral hazard of having the ability to extend the fractional reserve beyond the probability of a bank run, just because one could.  Are you saying that this isn’t a legitimate concern?

This is our expectation as well.


I’m going to quote you on that. :-)

Craig

That’s why you must follow legitimate KYC/AML procedures, and not allow unknown/untrusted persons to exchange fiat.

Craig

Hello folks, Craig from Mastercoin here.

While I certainly can admit that our team’s communication with the community can be improved, the talk of forking the protocol likely takes us down the wrong path.  If the issue is with JR’s holdings, remember that the bulk of the funds used in development came from JR in the form of BTC during the crowdsale last year.  Those are legitimately purchased tokens.  The same can be said for large NXT holders, where it appears this is less of an issue (although why large anonymous holders is better, from the community’s perspective, is a mystery to me).

With regards to the progress on the platform and protocol, including new issuers, let me provide some recent news, as it appears the really good news doesn’t get spread (all of our /r/Bitcoin links get deleted shortly after being posted….):

1. Integration of Master Core with large partners is increasing rapidly.  Bitfinex, Expresscoin, GoCoin, ZenBox, HolyTransactions (among others) have all integrated in the past two weeks.  More wallet integrations are coming soon as well. 
2. The Decentralized Exchange phase II is in testing currently on testnet (sneak peek at testnet.omniwallet.org) with release before the end of the year.
3. Master Core QT wallets for Linux, Windows and OS X are also in testing, and we will release a testnet version imminently (which will include DEx Phase II UI).
4. Larger issuers such as Tether (of which I am involved), Factom, HopeGold, etc are only a few of the larger, announced issuers taking advantage of the protocol.  The feedback we receive from major issuers (most unannounced) are that the Master Protocol (soon to be re-branded Omni), is the preferred platform due to ongoing development to the core protocol and software, and the expertise within the team.
5. The move from crowdsale financed development to community sponsorship is taking hold well with these larger issuers (and several of the smaller ones).
6. We have contracted with a well-known crypto firm to redesign OmniWallet UI from the ground up, and we’re in final review of this interface.  It should be implemented along with the DEx Phase II release before the end of the year.

Some of the other items being discussed are which smart contract technologies to leverage going forward, and how we can coordinate interop with other technologies such as Ethereum, Sidechains, etc.  Our focus is not to be an isolated island of functionality, but instead to be a bridge between complimentary technologies.  The partnerships we have made are extremely strong, and as they get announced the rest of the community will see the results.

In short, adoption of the platform is growing, but most of it is occuring quietly in the background.  Our progress has been dictated by making sure what we release is rock solid, as the possibility of disabling features after release due to problems is unacceptable.  This may not happen as quickly as everyone would like, but it’s prudent and I firmly believe that the platform is being adopted by so many third parties because of the quality of the work in each release.  We are constantly told how easy it is to complete an integration with Master Core.  The same can’t be said for other platforms.  As we continue to become integrated with other large partners (again, several of which are unannounced), it should become evident how strong of a platform we have.

Do not hesitate to reach out to me with any questions.

Craig

Ryan this is extraordinarily good news.  Congrats!

Craig

Version 0.3 of the wallet does not display Smart Properties.

Version 0.4 does, and will be released this week. 

Watch mastercoinwallets.org for the release.

Wow.  This is going to be exciting.

The Mastercoin Foundation doesn’t “sanction” anything.  This is an extraordinary leap forward in Blockchain 2.0 technology, built using the Master Protocol.

We look forward to seeing more innovative ideas being brought into reality, and this shows we’ve only made the first few steps into an amazing future.

Graz, Grimintz, you’ve outdone yourselves.  Well done.

Look what can be done.  We’re looking for more masterminds.  Come code.  Make something amazing.

Craig

Why is there a trading thread when you can buy and sell them at https://masterxchange.com/?

Seems no one wants to sell their MSAFE, though. 

In this example, you are the one holding the crowdsale.  You wish to sell 1000 DRAGON DILDOS for each 1 MSC you recieve in your crowdsale.  You’d announce these terms to the blockchain (using MP tx51) with those attriubtes.  A buyer would send 1MSC to the DILDOEXODUS address.  The buyer would receive 1000 DILDO and the Crowdsale address would receive 1 MSC. 

You get to keep that 1 MSC, since you’re the one who sold the DRAGON DILDOS.

Craig

The actual transaction (in JSON format) would look something like this: