Introduction

In an effort to be transparent I would like to disclose up front that I am a stakeholder in the form of ODIN coin, an Odin Society member, and general contributor to the development of ODIN.

I am not a financial advisor and am in no way suggesting investment strategies or investing advice of any kind.

Let’s start with some definitions:

First — Community Governance: “…community level management and decision-making that is undertaken by, with, or on behalf of a community, by a group of community stakeholders. (Totikidis, Armstrong & Francis, 2005)”

Next — DAO (Decentralized Autonomous Organization): can be seen as the most complex form of a smart contract, where the bylaws of the decentralized organization are embedded into the code of the smart contract, using complex token governance rules (BlockchainHub).

Okay. But what does that have to do with ODIN?

ODIN Co-operative, the driving human force behind the ODIN Blockchain has made it their mission to deliver a true community governed ecosphere through a variety of trustless methodologies. While the intention of community-driven governance is great, the problem is that this in and of itself is not enough as previous prevailing models were still reliant on said community members to follow the agreements set forth. ODIN eliminated this reliance by laying the community governance ideal on top of hard written code bylaws built into the chain function of governance and funding. I will talk more about this and relevant use cases throughout the article.

Got it. Explain to me why this matters.

When implementing a community-driven governance model, the strength of the community has until this point been reliant on the altruistic values of those same members governing the community. ODIN Blockchain and similar trustless systems have eliminated this reliance.

Here’s a snippet from the white paper outlining Community Funding and Masternode proposals (two vital components toward the push for true community governance) that work in favor of this trustless model;

“ODIN provides a decentralized and blockchain-based method for allocating development and growth funds through Masternode proposals. Masternodes can vote in a binary way one each masternode proposal put forward. Currently, each proposal cycle lasts for approximately one month, roughly the time between ODIN ‘superblocks’. These proposals are made publicly viewable, and the community is encouraged to debate and investigate them further, before each Superblock. Masternode operators can vote on these proposals through the ODIN wallet console.”

Successful Masternode proposals automatically receive their funding from this community staking rewards ‘pot’…”

(Read more under the Community Funding — Masternode Proposal subheading found in the most current version of the white paper here.)

You’ve convinced me it’s theoretically possible and even that its a good idea, but is ODIN actually doing these sorts of things in present day? What about competitors?

The answer to that first question is a resounding yes. Having implemented a PoS consensus algorithm, ODIN has already laid the foundation needed for a true community governance model through already functioning masternode proposal systems and masternode voting rights beholden to community members who possess a masternode.

In regards to the current masternode proposal system, the latest superblock (having happened on May 25th, 2019) allowed for the first successful governance proposal to be generated and funded. With this terrific news, ODIN is well on its way to the goal of true community-driven governance.

Furthermore, ODIN’s trustless systems already provide the ability for individual community members to propose an initiative for a nominal fee (currently 50 ODIN(Ø)coin). This proposal will then be voted on by all those who hold a masternode and have chosen to vote. The proposals that garner the most votes will automatically have proportional amounts of the superblock generated rewards allocated to their developmental efforts.

When answering part two of that question, the short answer is sort of. There are community governance models being attempted by others, most notably that of D.A.S.H. and PIVX, but ODIN differs in a few ways. I’ll spend the next few paragraphs outlining my understandings of overlapping principals and points of distinction between prevailing competitors and ODIN Blockchain.

First: All three models are built on Proof of Stake algorithms.

Second: All three projects have functioning masternodes and make use of masternode proposal systems for community governance models.

Third: All three projects make use of a dedicated developmental fund.

These overlapping similarities make core technical distinctions limited on these points. However, when we view the projects through an organizational lens we find a point of distinction that I find to have incredible promise and added value from that of ODIN when compared to D.A.S.H and PIVX.

ODIN having taken the measures needed to apply for and be established and recognized as a D-org (Decentralized Organization), are provided protections and positive ramifications such as being able to participate in business in certain countries, and the potential ability to be listed on very high-end exchanges that require rigorous classification. According to the most recent ODIN Society Report, the official classification is soon to come, “The ODIN Society is currently in registration via the Co-operatives UK to the Financial Conduct Authority. This process will be completed in approximately four weeks.” This classification makes ODIN as legitimate as any licensed organization, able to have bank accounts, hire representation, and so forth. The importance of this cannot be understated considering ODIN’s vast network infrastructure.

That all sounds fantastic. But there must be some sort of minimal holdings to participate in these community-driven governance models right?

Yes, there is. Having a minimal holdings requirement (collateral essentially) helps provide network security to the respective blockchains of PIVX, D.A.S.H, and ODIN. Below I’ll give specifics as to the cost of each masternode, masternodes currently running, and current ROI (Return on Investment) of each masternode.

The current minimum holding requirements for D.A.S.H. is 1,000.00 DASH. At the time of writing this translates to roughly $156,000.00 USD. According to Masternodes.online there are currently 4,716 masternodes being run by the D.A.S.H. community. The D.A.S.H. genesis block having taken place in 2014 has given the community ample time to set up and establish this network. The current ROI of a D.A.S.H masternode is: 6.62%

The current minimum holding requirements for PIVX is 10,000.00 PIV. At the time of writing this translates to roughly $7,466.00 USD. According to Masternodes.online there are currently 1,586 masternodes being run by the PIVX community. The PIVX genesis block having taken place in early 2016 has given the community less time than D.A.S.H. but still a significant amount of time to set up and establish this network. The current ROI of a PIVX masternode is: 10.43%

The current minimum holdings requirement for ODIN is 25,000.00 Ø (ODIN coin). At the time of writing this translates to roughly $309.00 USD. According to Masternodes.online there are currently 751 masternodes being run by the ODIN community. The ODIN genesis block having taken place in late September 2018 shows the potential of this community with such a substantial number of masternodes online this early in their development. The current ROI of an ODIN masternode is: 36.47%

Read more about how to get Ø(ODIN) here.

Okay. I’m in. Where do I find out more?

Discord Reddit Telegram ODIN Blockchain M.A.S.H. Odin.Chat

Special thanks to Isaboa, fellow ODIN Society Member and ODIN Blockchain Contributor.