(Compiled by the Strategy task force, based on Community feedback since inception)
The goal of this proposal is to refine the highest level vision and guiding principles for Olympus, while also introducing a strategy that’s meant to focus efforts and resources to help optimize growth in the short to mid term.
The vision and fundamental principles described below are meant to be stable and change infrequently. The strategy presented in a parallel proposal is constantly reevaluated and should be reviewed at least every six months, as the nature of strategy work and opportunities means that strategy should be adaptive.
THE VISION
Establish OHM as the decentralized, programmatic reserve currency at the center of digital economies.
What do we mean?
Decentralized means that Olympus is community governed, where no single entity has sole governance control and the protocol is not dependent on any single person to function or progress.
A currency is a standardization of money in any form, in use or circulation as a medium of exchange, for example banknotes, coins and digital currencies. Currencies may act as stores of value and be traded on exchanges, which determine the relative values of different currencies.
A number of traits define a reserve currency: ref deep liquidity, non-permissioned exchange to other currencies and stability towards assets and goods. A currency can be defined as "reserve" when it is held by other monetary authorities and institutions as a reserve.
Within a DeFi context, a reserve currency is:
a default trading pair on decentralized exchanges
freely lent and borrowed on money markets, serving as robust collateral
utilized to settle derivatives
held by protocol treasuries and individuals alike as a safe haven
Digital economies expand beyond DeFi and crypto into the global, everyday economy enabled by the internet and digital business models.
Why OHM?
BTC and ETH are sound commodities, whose respective economics and designs encourage saving and speculation at the expense of investment and spending. Pegged stablecoins have found product market fit in the current DeFi landscape, but suffer from imposed monetary policy and the tradeoffs between scalability and decentralization.
OHM seeks to fill a gap in the market for a crypto-native currency that is useful as a medium of exchange, unit of account, and store of value at scale.
OHM is a floating currency managed by transparent, algorithmic and market-driven monetary policy, powered by the Olympus treasury, and governed by OHM holders.
The protocol is a decentralized autonomous monetary authority, serving the needs of stakeholders by ensuring liquid markets, fostering stability, and promoting velocity.
The protocol has the flexibility (floating) and power (treasury) to make OHM the most liquid and ubiquitous asset, starting in DeFi, extending to the broader crypto ecosystem, and finally to be at the center of digital economies.
How OHM?
In physics, Ohm is a unit of electrical resistance. At scale, OHM the currency is allowed to float with resistance from the protocol’s key monetary policy levers: algorithmic direct intervention and rates.
Through its early growth phase, Olympus bootstrapped a treasury composed of protocol owned liquidity and reserves that together represent a budget for algorithmic open market operations implemented as the Range-Bound Stability (“RBS”) module.
Next to algorithmic direct intervention, rate policy is the other key pillar of monetary policy. Interest rate policy will be carried out in OHM lending markets where the treasury can dynamically inject liquidity into collateralized debt positions, under collateralized credit accounts and liquidity pairs, among others. Also included under the umbrella of rates is the OHM emissions rate for staking and bonding, which align holders with the growth of the protocol. Both interest and emissions rates help to reinforce RBS by incentivizing stakeholder behavior and managing supply.
Lastly, decentralization through on-chain governance ties together the actions of the protocol and the direction provided by the OHM token holders. The protocol obtains its authority from the community, ensuring that those who are participating in the economy guide the implementation of changes in a transparent and fair manner.
Guiding Principles for Olympus Development and Governance
The guiding principles define the goal of Olympus, the entities and the highest level governance system.
The goal of Olympus protocol is to create a decentralized reserve currency and monetary policy using smart contracts.
The Olympus protocol aims to be fully codified, with direct on chain governance responsible for protocol updates.
Community proposals are published and discussed on the Olympus forum before being voted on.
OlympusDAO is the Decentralized Autonomous Organization that facilitates protocol development, utility, education, partnerships, stability, and growth.
OlympusDAO is overseen by the Olympus community and strives for transparency, integrity, excellence and trust.
The Olympus community delegates OlympusDAO oversight to the Olympus Governance Council.
These guiding principles will evolve over time and are changed by two community votes at least 30 days apart with quorum defined by on-chain governance.