OMG Network Releases Ethereum Layer 2 Scaling With USDT Support
OMG Network – an Ethereum scaling solution – has just deployed their Layer 2 solution on mainnet.
Formerly known as OmiseGo, the new rebrand to OMG Network comes with a new V1 Mainnet Beta including a demo wallet, a new website, and a block explorer to track transactions.
Perhaps the bigger news of this release is the integration of Tether (USDT) in partner with the issuing entity Bitfinex. For those who don’t know, USDT is the largest stablecoin on the market, currently boasting an $8.7B market cap with more than 60% of that supply being represented as an ERC20 token. Users are able to borrow as well as lend USDT.
With OMG Network, Tether is able to take advantage of OMG Network’s More Viable Plasma (MoreVP) scaling solution, increasing throughput from Ethereum’s current limit of ~12 transactions per second to what OMG is claiming “A high throughput of thousands of tps with 1/3rd the transaction cost”.
What’s To Know?
For those who have been keeping up with Layer 2 scaling, you’ve probably noticed a recurring theme of batched transactions. Best exemplified by Optimistic Rollups as seen in test environments like Synthetix’s Layer 2 Exchange, OMG Network groups transactions together on a Plasma “childchain”, all of which are then batched and routed to the Ethereum parent chain.
To participate and decentralize this process, OMG Network will introduce the role of “watchers” or validators who post a stake in the form of OMG tokens to batch and route transactions on behalf of childchains.
The news of the V1 Mainnet Beta comes just a few short weeks after OMG was listed on Coinbase – prompting a 100%+ surge in price in a matter of days.
Later tonight, OMG Network will be debuting the “Proof of Life” launch during the Messari Virtual Summit which can be viewed here.
Ethereum Congestions Scaling
As we continue to embark on the journey to ETH 2.0, the launch of OMG Network comes at a much needed time as Ethereum desperately begs for increased throughput.
For those who have yet to suffer from the extremely high gas prices, the recent surge in demand for ETH has clogged up the network, with gas demand currently reaching an all-time high.
According to ETHGasStation, Tether has long since held the lead for most gas used, spending nearly $2M on transactions at any average price of 38.5 Gwei. This goes to say that with the introduction of OMG Network and the partnership with Bitfinex, we should see this spike drop – thus freeing up the network for more use among other DeFi protocols.
If one thing is for sure, the long-awaited launch of OMG Network comes as a positive sign for the Ethereum ecosystem. However, as a last word of caution – OMG Network is still in beta and remains experimental.
As someone who tried out the Go.Exchange (a custom DEX by OmiseGo) which was inevitably shut down, I’m hopeful that OMG Network does not follow a similar fate.
In the meantime, be sure to stay up with OMG Network on Twitter.
