If you’re wondering, “what is OriginTrail?”, simply put, it’s a blockchain ecosystem specially built for enhancing supply chain operations with decentralized data sharing. Using a unique data management system known as the Decentralized Knowledge Graph, OriginTrail ensures product authenticity and traceability. In this article, we’ll uncover how it achieves this and why the TRAC token is fundamental to its operation.
Key Takeaways
OriginTrail is designed to enhance supply chain transparency by integrating real-world assets into Web3 through its decentralized knowledge graph (DKG) technology, which has broad applications in various industries including healthcare and construction.
TRAC token is a core component of the OriginTrail ecosystem, used to incentivize data contribution and verification; it has a capped maximum supply of 500 million, with mechanisms aimed at stabilizing its value over time.
The OriginTrail ecosystem is not only technologically advanced, with its integration of AI and IoT, but also well-connected through strategic partnerships and collaborations, aiming to establish the verifiable internet for AI and adhere to core Web3 principles.
What is OriginTrail?
Imagine a world where:
Real-world assets are seamlessly managed in the digital space
Trustworthiness of shared knowledge is ensured globally
The discovery and verifiability of these assets are just a click away
That’s the world OriginTrail envisions. Co-founded by Igor Drev, Toma Levak, and Branimir Raki, OriginTrail aims to ease the transition towards blockchain solutions within supply chains, thus addressing real-world problems.
OriginTrail’s tech stack brings real-world assets into Web3, promoting discoverability, verifiability, and connectivity. Its system architecture leverages semantic, verifiable asset data to represent assets with real-world relationships and characteristics. This unique approach caters to over 250 organizations from various sectors including supply chains, life sciences, healthcare, and construction, thereby contributing to the network’s knowledge and application diversity. As a result, the origintrail price is influenced by its widespread adoption and usage.
The Decentralized Knowledge Graph (DKG)
At the heart of the OriginTrail ecosystem lies the origintrail decentralized knowledge graph (DKG), a global, open data structure that intertwines a vast array of interlinked knowledge assets in an RDF-based knowledge graph. The DKG is hosted on the OriginTrail Decentralized Network (ODN), an open and permissionless platform that leverages blockchain technology to ensure a unified framework for trust in data across the network.
The DKG operates on several key layers, including:
The network layer
The data layer
The service layer
The consensus layer
The application layer
Each layer contributes uniquely to the platform’s robustness and efficiency. The consensus layer interfaces with multiple blockchains where trusted smart contracts reside, facilitating seamless management of node relationships and trustless protocols. Trust and data veracity within the DKG are underpinned by blockchain and knowledge graph technologies that ensure decentralized consensus while semantic, verifiable asset data enable representation of intricate real-world relationships.
Supply Chain Data Sharing Revolutionized
In the context of supply chains, OriginTrail is a game-changer, offering supply chain transparency. It provides:
Secure ways to share supply chain data across various data sources
Alignment of data efficiently using global standards that integrate both legacy systems and blockchain technologies
Trusted data collection from IoT devices, which are crucial in sectors where proof of origin and visibility are paramount, such as the medicine industry.
Nodes within the OriginTrail ecosystem compete to provide Data Knowledge Graph services. This competition is fueled by a permissionless market using TRAC tokens to ensure supplier compliance and encourage efficient data storage and management. It’s a testament to the potential of OriginTrail in enhancing trust and efficiency in life sciences and healthcare supply chains, as demonstrated by its partnership with the World Federation of Hemophilia.
Interoperability Across Multiple Blockchain Ecosystems
OriginTrail stands out for its ability to maintain data integrity across different blockchain networks. It achieves this through off-chain data hashing and reference checking, allowing nodes to verify each other’s data without revealing the actual data. In essence, the OriginTrail protocol ensures consensus and data integrity across multiple blockchain ecosystems, including Ethereum, Polkadot, and others, by enabling inter-network verification.
Adhering to core principles such as neutrality, inclusiveness, and usability, OriginTrail’s multichain strategy avoids reliance on any single blockchain, integrates various technologies and maximizes the interconnected value of Web3 assets. The multichain architecture of OriginTrail allows for selective data sharing with granular control, which is key for protecting sensitive business information and intellectual property in supply chain architectures.
This multichain growth has fostered network effects by:
Making Knowledge Assets functional across various blockchains
Demonstrating interoperability with ecosystems such as Polkadot
Planning expansion to further EVM-compatible blockchains.
TRAC Token: The Fuel of OriginTrail
Just as gasoline powers vehicles, the TRAC token powers the OriginTrail ecosystem. Serving as a means of compensation for data creators, holders, and consumers within the OriginTrail network, the TRAC token holds a significant role in the ecosystem. Originally launched as an ERC-20 token on the Ethereum blockchain in 2018, TRAC is divisible down to 18 decimal places, making it flexible and adaptable for various transactions within the network.
With a maximum supply of 500 million tokens, TRAC distribution includes portions for:
The scarcity of TRAC is influenced by data publishing and collateralization, which along with adoption, is expected to stabilize the price of data jobs on the ODN, even as the value of TRAC increases.
Driving Protocol Incentives
In the OriginTrail ecosystem, the TRAC token serves as the fundamental incentive mechanism. It requires staking to participate in network operations, ensuring data integrity and availability.
Here are some key features of the TRAC token:
Nodes must stake a minimum of 50,000 TRAC
Higher stakes increase the chance to receive network rewards
OriginTrail introduces a non-custodial delegated staking system for additional security
Staking rewards generated through DKG usage are automatically restaked, compounding the node operators’ stake and offering a steady incentive for continuous participation. Delegating TRAC to selected nodes allows for a proportional distribution of rewards, with specific share tokens representing the staked amount, thus promoting network-wide stability and security.
Circulating Supply and Tokenomics
The maximum supply of TRAC tokens is capped at 500 million, with a circulating supply of approximately 447.27M. This ensures that the market is not flooded with tokens, thus maintaining the value of TRAC. Importantly, there is no inflation in the TRAC token supply, as all tokens were distributed during the initial coin offering, further enhancing its scarcity and value.
Out of the total supply, 95 million TRAC tokens are reserved for the development pool to support the OriginTrail ecosystem and grant programs. TRAC tokens are listed on cryptocurrency exchanges, including Bybit. Key metrics such as market cap, volume, and circulating supply are essential to evaluate the asset and make informed investment decisions.
The Technology Behind OriginTrail
OriginTrail is powered by cutting-edge technology that fosters extreme decentralization. Some key features of the platform include:
Data holding nodes in the network allow anyone with 3,000 TRAC or more to run one, promoting wide participation.
The platform ensures data immutability by using cryptographic hashing, with the hash stored on the blockchain.
This technology makes the data tamper-proof, enhancing its credibility and trustworthiness.
The offchain layer of OriginTrail handles most tasks related to data integrity and interoperability, thus alleviating the blockchain from excessive computational load. This layer plays a crucial role in the smooth functioning of the network. The Network Operating System (nOS) is pivotal for OriginTrail adoption, connecting the data exchange network to legacy systems and other blockchains, which simplifies implementation and reduces costs.
Ensuring Data Integrity with Blockchain
Blockchain technology is at the core of the OriginTrail ecosystem. It is employed for:
decentralized consensus and trust
ensuring data integrity through immutable record-keeping
storing cryptographic fingerprints of datasets on a blockchain, acting as a proof of integrity for data within the Decentralized Knowledge Graph (DKG)
This ensures that the data from data providers can be trusted and relied upon.
The TRAC token is instrumental within OriginTrail’s framework, facilitating the following:
Creation and updates of knowledge assets in a secure manner
Incentivizing nodes through TRAC rewards for proving they are storing knowledge assets
Ensuring accountability and reliability in data handling.
Connecting Real World Assets to Digital Identities
In an increasingly digital world, one of the key challenges is the binding of physical assets with digital counterparts. OriginTrail addresses this issue by associating each Knowledge Asset on the network with a non-fungible token (NFT), ensuring trusted ownership and verifiability. This binding is critical in sectors like pharmaceuticals where the Decentralized Knowledge Graph (DKG) increases supply chain visibility and trust by providing a credible verification method for medication distribution.
OriginTrail’s technology stack is specifically engineered to connect physical assets with the digital realm, fostering the creation of a unified Web3 data ecosystem that supports asset discoverability and verifiability. This seamless connection of real-world assets to digital identities is a significant step towards the realization of a truly decentralized and transparent digital economy.
The Synergy of AI and OriginTrail
Artificial Intelligence (AI) has revolutionized various sectors, and OriginTrail is no exception. The V6 Decentralized Knowledge Graph (DKG V6) introduced in the Turing phase is designed to facilitate AI integration within the OriginTrail ecosystem. DKG V6 provides a trusted knowledge foundation that is crucial for the development and sustainability of artificial intelligence applications.
Alongside this, OriginTrail introduces ChatDKG, a framework that enhances generative AI models by ensuring the information they rely on has a verifiable origin and a trusted trail. This innovative approach improves the trustworthiness of AI models, ensuring they provide accurate and reliable outputs.
Knowledge Assets Made AI-Ready
OriginTrail’s Decentralized Knowledge Graph (DKG) is a foundational technology that marries knowledge graph and blockchain to create AI-ready Knowledge Assets and ensure trusted knowledge sharing. The DKG acts as a discerning tool for factual accuracy and enhances knowledge fidelity, significantly improving the trustworthiness of data sources for AI.
Knowledge Assets in OriginTrail are structured to foster AI’s ability to perform semantic searches and advanced analytics, backed by W3C RDF/SPARQL standards for easy integration with other knowledge graphs. These AI-ready Knowledge Assets offer the following benefits:
Foster AI’s ability to perform semantic searches and advanced analytics
Easy integration with other knowledge graphs
Enhance the discoverability and connectivity of information for AI tools
The Role of IoT Devices in Data Collection
IoT devices are integral to the OriginTrail ecosystem, providing essential live data as successfully demonstrated in a pilot project that published this information on the OriginTrail Decentralized Network (ODN). The integration of IoT devices with the OriginTrail network allows for the real-time data collection necessary for the development of enriched Knowledge Assets and more sophisticated AI applications.
Live, authenticated data streams from IoT devices feed into the Decentralized Knowledge Graph (DKG), providing valuable inputs for the universe of AI-ready Knowledge Assets within the OriginTrail ecosystem. By providing verifiable credentials, IoT devices enhance the trustworthiness and fidelity of AI applications, solidifying their role in the OriginTrail network as sources of reliable data.
Strategic Partnerships and Collaborations
OriginTrail is not a solitary endeavor. It’s an initiative that thrives on strategic partnerships and collaborations. The Trace Alliance, an initiative by OriginTrail, is designed to facilitate collaboration and knowledge exchange on Decentralized Knowledge Graph applications, particularly in the context of trusted data leveraging for AI. Within the Trace Alliance, members span various sectors, including:
Enterprises
Service providers
Developers
Research institutions
This makes it a multi-industry collaborative effort within the supplier compliance audit network, including the supply chain industry.
Members of the Trace Alliance benefit from:
Access to new academic research
Valuable knowledge resources
Promotion opportunities
Increased visibility through events
These benefits aim to co-create a trusted knowledge foundation for AI applications in multiple fields. Furthermore, the OriginTrail ecosystem receives support from the European Union via the Next Generation Internet initiative, highlighting the project’s alignment with efforts to develop a more human-centric internet and contribute to its widespread adoption.
Trace Labs and Core Development
Behind the scenes of OriginTrail’s open-source technology is Trace Labs, the core development company based in Hong Kong. Trace Labs has gained significant support from technology leaders, including a collaboration with Oracle.
Their development work provides businesses the capability to transform their data into discoverable, verifiable, and valuable knowledge assets, further enhancing the utility and potential of the OriginTrail ecosystem.
Recognition by Global Standards and Institutions
OriginTrail’s commitment to global standards and the utility of its protocol across various sectors has not gone unnoticed. Built on GS1 and W3C standards, OriginTrail ensures its protocol is in line with global standards that many industries already adopt. Its partnership with the British Standards Institution (BSI) serves as validation of OriginTrail’s commitment to these standards.
OriginTrail has established partnerships with diverse and influential organizations such as SCAN and Walmart, further enhancing its credibility and demonstrating the protocol’s broad application. In a significant recognition of its potential, the World Economic Forum acknowledged OriginTrail as a top blockchain-based supply chain solution in their 2020 Blockchain Deployment Toolkit report, highlighting the project’s relevance and potential contribution to improving supply chain processes during the COVID-19 pandemic.
How to Buy OriginTrail (TRAC)
For those interested in joining the OriginTrail ecosystem, acquiring TRAC tokens is a straightforward process. Here’s how:
Select a reputable cryptocurrency exchange, such as Bybit for its user-friendly platform, security, and supported currencies.
Create and verify an account on your chosen exchange by completing the required ID verification.
After adding a payment method, initiate a TRAC purchase via the provided buy and sell interface on the platform.
To complete the purchase, specify the amount of fiat currency you wish to spend, which will be auto-converted to TRAC, then confirm the details and complete the purchase with a market or limit order according to your preference. Investors can start with as little as $10 to buy fractions of TRAC and should consider the market’s volatility by only investing what they can afford to lose. Secure storage of TRAC should be through cryptocurrency wallets, preferably hardware wallets for maximum security, with tools like Bybit available for tracking investment performance.
Selling TRAC follows a similar procedure to buying, and one must be mindful of associated transaction and exchange fees.
The Vision and Future of OriginTrail
OriginTrail’s vision goes beyond its current achievements. It is aimed at enhancing trust and transparency in global supply chains, as proven by its significant impacts such as safer train-path kilometers, connected professional certificates, and securely treated patients. Looking forward, OriginTrail envisions establishing the Verifiable Internet for AI by leveraging a combination of crypto, internet, and AI technologies to tackle misinformation, data ownership, and bias in AI.
In the emerging Web3 era, OriginTrail aims to validate and adhere to core Web3 principles, creating a robust ecosystem focused on:
secure, transparent, and trusted data exchange in supply chains
permissionless, trustless, and open-source ecosystem
community collaboration to contribute to and enhance the decentralized network
This approach ensures long-term success and promotes a strong and sustainable ecosystem.
Summary
In conclusion, OriginTrail is a groundbreaking platform that utilizes blockchain technology to revolutionize supply chain management. By seamlessly integrating real-world assets into the digital realm, leveraging AI technology, and fostering a decentralized, transparent, and trustless ecosystem, OriginTrail is poised to make a significant impact on various industries. Its TRAC token plays a crucial role in incentivizing and facilitating network operations, while its commitment to global standards and collaborations with leading institutions further enhance its credibility and potential. As we move forward in the Web3 era, OriginTrail is a promising beacon of innovation and transformation.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does Trac coin do?
Trac coin, or Trace token (TRAC), is used for staking, paying for publishing data called Knowledge Assets, setting collateral on DKG network nodes, incentivizing protocol behavior, and data processing and storage on the network.
Is OriginTrail a good investment?
Based on the latest price forecast and market sentiment, OriginTrail shows potential for growth and could be a good investment. However, it's important to conduct thorough research before making any investment decisions.
What is OriginTrail used for?
OriginTrail is used to address the problem of fragmented and siloed supply chain data by creating a decentralized network. It also allows users to pay for data storage and other services on the network.
How does the Decentralized Knowledge Graph (DKG) work?
The Decentralized Knowledge Graph (DKG) works by intertwining a vast array of interlinked knowledge assets in an RDF-based knowledge graph and leveraging blockchain technology to ensure a unified framework for trust in data across the network.
What role does the TRAC token play in the OriginTrail ecosystem?
The TRAC token serves to compensate data creators, holders, and consumers in the OriginTrail network and supports secure creation and updates of knowledge assets.