Our project is called the 'XY Oracle Network' (XYO Network). The XYO Network enables trustless transactions through an ecosystem of crypto-location components that can bridge the gap from the world of today, to the world of tomorrow. The XYO Network makes it possible for smart contracts to access the real world by using the XYO Network's ecosystem of devices to determine if an object is at a specific XY-coordinate. If it is, one can set up applications which execute transactions in the smart contract. This has opened up a new world of possibilities. The applications of such a technology are infinite. Take for example an eCommerce Company. With the XYO Network, they could now offer their premium customers payment-upon-delivery services. To be able to offer this service, the eCommerce company would leverage the XYO Network (which uses XYO Tokens) to write a smart contract. The XYO Network could then track the location of the package being sent to the consumer along every single step of fulfillment; from the warehouse shelf to the shipping courier, all the way into the consumer's house and every location in between. This could enable eCommerce retailers and websites to verify, in a trustless way, that the package not only appeared on the customer's doorstep, but also safely inside their home.
Synthetix is based in Australia, Synthetix launched a seed funding round in September, 2017 to develop the concept of a self-contained stablecoin payment network. They then kicked off their public ICO on February 28, 2018 and by the end of the ICO on March 7, 2018, they had met their goal of $30,000,000 USD. Synthetix was rebranded from Havven on November 30, 2018. Synthetix is led by a multidisciplinary team of 13 individuals. The project was founded by Kain Warwick, who previously co-founded blueshyft, one of the largest digital payment networks in Australia. The CTO is Justin Moses, who also serves as the Director of Engineering at MongoDB. Synthetix aims to address the problem that companies running centralized payment networks such as PayPal, credit card networks, or the SWIFT banking network have “absolute control over the value within the network, so any transaction conducted within them may be blocked or reversed at any time.” According to the Synthetix white paper, “Although this is ostensibly designed to protect users, it introduces systemic risk for all participants. If the network is compromised or its owners cease to behave benevolently, no party can trust that the value in their account is secure or accessible.” This is theorized to work because anyone who holds SNX tokens in escrow will be incentivized by Synthetix rewards derived from network transaction fees that will be distributed “in proportion with how well each issuer maintains the correct Synths supply.” When a Synthetix escrow user puts their SNX in escrow, USD-stabilized Synths will be automatically put up for sale on a decentralized exchange at a price of $1 USD. To release escrowed SNX, the user must buy back the Synths issued (also at a price of $1 USD) at which point the Synths will be burned. The Synthetix system uses an algorithm to adjust network fees, and therefore dividends, to SNX holders to incentivize (or disincentivize) the holding of SNX in escrow smart contracts, and thus, the creation of Synths. The theory is that this will cause users to mint and burn Synths in the appropriate amount based solely on supply and demand.