Orion Protocol is a project that launched in 2020 and quickly grew a big community that became excited about Orion Protocol solving some major inconveniences for crypto traders. Fast forward to 2022 and they have a large list of partnerships and have been delivering lots of interesting features. Let’s explore the what, the how and the why of Orion Protocol.
What is Orion Protocol?
Alright, let’s start with the first question: que?
TLDR; Orion Protocol is your single point of access to the crypto market, powered by the $ORN token. They aim to provide you access to CEXs, DEXs, and swap pools directly from your wallet. No KYC or account needed. No restriction, but global access for everyone.
Orion Protocol is a very ambitious project, aiming to provide solutions to various problems in today’s crypto market. The products they are working on vary from B2B solutions like a Whitelabel DEX and Orion swap widget to “consumer” oriented products like the Orion Bridge and the Solarflare IDOs.
But, this project is most known for its flagship product called the Orion Terminal.
Orion Terminal
The Orion Terminal is the main product from the ORN team and it’s what most people will know them for, and are most excited about. It’s a trading terminal that allows you to swap/trade tokens directly from your wallet (non custodial, no kyc or account needed).
So it’s a DEX? Well, it’s much more than that. The Orion terminal aggregates liquidity from various CEXs, DEXs and swap pools. All this liquidity is aggregated into one UI, allowing you to tap into them safely and saving you time. In some cases, it can even save you some money. See, since there are different liquidity sources aggregated into one place, the terminal also finds you the most beneficial route to route your order through. So if a token of your choice is cheaper on CEX 1 and more expensive on CEX 2 or other DEXs, then the terminal will automatically route your order through CEX1!
Currently, the following chains are aggregated into the terminal: Binance Smart Chain, Ethereum, Polygon and Fantom. The list of exchanges that have become power brokers (more on this later) is also quite long. Amongst others that have already onboarded Binance, AscendEx, KuCoin, Crypto.com, MXC, and more.
So, how does the Orion Terminal work?
Alright, so as we mentioned previously, various liquidity sources are aggregated into one UI: the Orion Terminal.
We distinguish two types of liquidity sources:
- Centralized liquidity sources (think exchanges like Binance and crypto.com)
- Decentralized liquidity sources (think DEXs and swap pools like Pancakeswap and Uniswap)
To aggregate these two sources, the ORN team has to do two things:
- Centralized liquidity sources -> Onboard the exchanges as power brokers
- Decentralized liquidity sources -> Integrate the underlying blockchain into the terminal using smart contracts
Integrating blockchain that are EMV-compatible (Ethereum Virtual Machine) are in theory the easiest to integrate as the smart contracts are compatible with the ORN smart contracts. They “just” have to be altered. However, the team has explained that it is not a matter of plug and play, it still requires development. They have managed to integrate polygon,binance smart chain, ethereum and fantom, with many more chains on the way.
As far as CEXs, we already mentioned which exchanges are onboarded. But how is it possible that you can tap into CEX liquidity through the ORN terminal which doesn’t require any kyc? The infographic below shows you how it works in detail. TLDR; a network of brokers has their device online and ready to get orders routed through their exchange account – this all happens automatically using the Orion Broker Software that the brokers run.
What’s the big deal? Why do we need the Orion Terminal?
Actually, if you’ve been in crypto for a while you’ll understand the implications from this right away. The terminal solves certain problem and even give certain opportunities/benefits.
Problem #1: KYC
Let’s face it, no one likes doing KYC. It’s tedious to do and even more annoying when you have to re-do it when it gets rejected. If we can avoid it, we’ll make sure to do so.
Problem #2: Making accounts
One thing I love about web 3, is the option of simply logging in or gaining acces by connecting your wallet. It’s brilliant. No passwords, not having to share user info, etc.
Problem #3: Geo restrictions
Some protocols or exchanges have been restricting certain countries.places. Not Orion. Acces the terminal anywhere, anytime. Global access!
Problem #4: CEX/DEX hopping
We all know that annoying feeling of having to hop between different CEXes, or withdrawing from your CEX account to your metamask because the coin you want is only available on a DEX. This is a very annoying proces which is largely resolved using the terminal.
Problem #5: Bridges getting hacked
We’ve seen a long list of bridges getting hacked recently, and the losses total up to hundreds of millions. This is something that is solved by the Orion bridge, read more about it in this article by the ORN team: blog.orionprotocol.io/bridgedeepdive
Opportunity #1: Arbitraging between liquidity sources
Imagine this: yoiur coin of choice costs $1 on CEX1, and $1.05 on CEX2. That’s an interesing arbitrage opportunity. But to take advantage would be difficult, especially betweenm having to withdraw and depost between the two CEXs. It’s just a slow process. Well, since the ORN terminal aggregates different liquidity sources, that also gives you the opportunity to do arbitrage between them. The terminal routes your trades always in your favour -> When you sell you’ll get the highest price and when you buy you get the lowest price.
Opportunity #2: Staking your $ORN token in mainnet staking
Mainnet staking is not released yet. But once it is available, $ORN token holders will be able to stake their ORN tokens to earn a share of all the revenue that is generated from the terminal trading fees as well as the other 18 (!!) revenue streams of the Orion Protocol.
In conclusion
We’re pretty excited about Orion Protocol as a project. The terminal they are building has a real use case and solves real problems. Revenue sharing as a token utility is always something that gets us excited.
Want to learn more about Orion Protcol?
- Check out this article about Orion Protocol on cryptomendo.com
- This Twitter thread from Andrew (the CMO) on what sets ORN apart from other aggregators
- This Medium article by friend of the blog Blaze on how ORN can provide very attractive passive income
Fair disclaimer: we are invested in this project.
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