Augur is a peer-to-peer powered protocol that was designed specifically for prediction markets. It is also a decentralized oracle network.
The General Public License (GPL) and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) licenses apply to Augur, meaning free software is available to the public.
The smart contracts that make up Augur were designed specifically for usage on the Ethereum network.
One of the most challenging challenges that decentralized app (dApp) developers encounter when bridging real-world data sources to a blockchain is “the oracle problem.” The Augur Protocol makes an effort to overcome this difficulty.
The Augur oracle network eliminates the need for relying on a third party by making it possible for the information to be moved from data sources based in the real world to the blockchain.
Are you considering becoming involved with Augur (REP), but you have no idea what it is or where to start? No worries. This guide is intended to educate you on all you must know about the project and prepare you to plunge into the trading experience that is the most user-friendly currently available on the market.
What is Augur?
The Ethereum blockchain is the foundation for the decentralized, trustless oracle and prediction market platform Augur.
In addition to this, it is the first significant decentralized application (dApp) to be constructed with Ethereum, which means that it is an important proof of concept for this technology.
Augur was developed to allow cryptocurrency users to tap into the so-called “wisdom of the crowd” to forecast the results of any future event accurately, be it an election, the outcome of a SpaceX launch, or who will win the World Cup.
Users of Augur speculate on the outcomes of future events; users who get the outcome right win money, while users who get it wrong lose money.
The concept behind Augur is based on the monetization of correct answers. When the likelihood of something happening is low, the reward for correctly forecasting whether or not it will occur is proportionally higher.
Augur’s projections are nearly always more accurate than those of the most prominent experts, mainly due to its sophisticated prediction algorithm, which creates practically real-time predictive data.
Augur is a decentralized program that does not belong to anyone and cannot be terminated by a single individual, business, or government.
How does Augur work?
Gambling is reimagined through the lens of the decentralized platform Augur.
The betting process consists mostly of four stages: the creation stage, trading stage, reporting stage, and settlement stage.
Anyone can launch their markets in Augur; all required is a modest amount of Ethereum and a buzzworthy subject on which to place bets.
The question “Will Elon Musk sell Tesla to Apple in 2019?” or “Will the Cubs won the World Series in 2020?” is just one example of the wide range of topics that markets can address.
People who create markets can charge a creator fee in Ethereum.
This fee can range from 0 percent to 50 percent of the total amount of the settlement and is collected after the market has been created.
It acts as an incentive for consumers to build new marketplaces for their products.
The trading phase will commence once a market has been established.
When this day arrives, individuals will be able to buy shares in the outcomes of any real-world events. They will be eligible to receive rewards for giving their knowledge and insights to the Augur oracle.
The price of each share is determined by considering how likely it is that the event will take place.
The price of something goes up proportionately to the number of people who buy into a given outcome.
Users also can trade the shares they acquire with other people or invest in less likely outcomes in the hopes of achieving higher financial returns.
One share of any event will set you back $1, but if the odds are even, you’ll only have to pay $0.50.
The reporting phase begins once a market has closed for the day.
Augur’s oracle receives information about the actual, real-world outcome from reporters motivated by profit.
Using this data, the oracle determines the outcome of the market and begins the settlement process.
Reporters who supply correct reports and information regularly are eventually monetarily rewarded, while others whose reports contradict the consensus are penalized.
Anyone with a reputation (REP), the native token of Augur, can become a reporter and participate in this process step.
In order to place bets on the Augur network, users do not need to have any reputation; rather, only reporters are required to own REP tokens.
The settlement phase is dependent on smart contracts, which automatically carry out the terms of the ultimate conclusion.
Users are compensated for making predictions that turn out to be accurate.
Reporters whose work was judged to be true and accurate are given reputation tokens as a reward.
On the other hand, reporters who either did not respond or provided information that was found to be inaccurate are punished by having their share of REP allocated to more honest reports.
Who Are The Founders of Augur?
The year 2014 marked the debut of Augur. The crowdsale for the project brought in more than 2,000 bitcoins and 100,000 ether on the first day (in total, it brought in $5.5 million). As was previously mentioned, Augure was one of the first big platforms to be developed on Ethereum.
Jack Peterson and Joey Krug are the founding members of Augur — they each have a decent track record in the blockchain space, previously having led the creation of Sidecoin, a famous Bitcoin fork.
Vitalik Buterin, one of the people behind Ethereum who founded Augur, serves as an advisor to the team behind Augur, further strengthening the platform’s position in the cryptocurrency industry.
What does the future hold for Augur?
Augur is regarded highly due to the fact that it is one of the earliest Ethereum initiatives. The whitepaper produced by the team provides a detailed explanation of the idea that underpins the platform, establishing credibility. Furthermore, it is plain to see that this is a viable idea.
Getting information from the general public is also an effective strategy for predicting market trends.
The utilization of smart contracts capable of self-execution and autonomously fulfilling the stated conditions eradicates the potential for human error. It greatly minimizes the likelihood of successfully manipulating the outcome.