OSE Coin
A digital currency coupled to the value created by the OSE mission.
Anyone can purchase OSE Coins and become an OSE crypto shareholder.
Spending OSE Coin would be necessary to access the official OSE Market. As the OSE Market grows (# of sellers, buyers and transactions) so does the value of the currency.
Active OSE Developers receive regular dividends during their participation. Therefore it becomes lucrative to be an active and productive OSE Developer and convince your peers to uphold your membership during the regular renewal periods.
Built on Duniter.
Is this like an ICO?
No, there is no initial set of tokens generated by a small group of people. Instead, all active OSE Developers get the same amount of tokens at regular intervals from day one.
Where can I spend the OSE Coin?
You would need OSE Coins in order to be able to sell things in the OSE Market, to label your machines as OSE Certified, to have premium product placement in the marketplace and to access many other perks and features.
Where do I get OSE Coin?
Become an OSE Developer and you'll automagically get regular dividends for your participation.
Buy them from an OSE Developer, the OSE Organization or on a future OSE Coin exchange.
Where does the value of the OSE Coin come from?
As part of your OSE Developer status you receive 8 OSE Coins per month. In order to sell the OSE Dev Kit or some other machine through the OSE Market you have to spend 1 OSE Coin to list your stuff. This may seem silly at first that you're getting coins from OSE and then subsequently spending the coins in order to sell stuff but the value of the coins becomes apparent when you want to sell more than 8 items per month or if you are not an active OSE Developer anymore but want to continue selling on the market.
OSE Coins have value because they are necessary to participate in the OSE Market. The more social status, prestige and trust exhibited by the OSE brand and certifications the more valuable it is to be certified by and sell products on the OSE Market.
How are the dividends determined?
The dividend of 8 OSE Coins is based on being able to sell eight $1k OSE Dev Kits per month at $8k revenue and ~$4k profit which is a reasonable starter income for someone in the US.
What does OSE do with the coins it collects through marketplace fees?
Depends on the needs of the OSE Organization. It may hold on to them and let them appreciate in value. It may sell some coins for fiat currency to invest in growth, buy materials, more land, pay staff, etc.
How much is one OSE Coin in USD?
There is no pre-determined exchange rate. This is determined by the market. Hopefully as the value of owning OSE Coins goes up so will their exchange rate to USD.
The first OSE Developer who runs out of OSE Coins to pay the listing fees on OSE Market may want to buy some. This first sale will determine the starting price. It could be $1 million dollars or it could be 10 cents. (Probably it will be closer to a 1:1 exchange rate in the beginning.)
Will there always have to be fees on the marketplace?
No. This is just an initial strategy to build value in the OSE Coin. Eventually as more and more people start using it in commerce it will gain inherent value as a means of exchange. Just like bitcoin, for example.
Can't someone just sell outside the OSE Market?
Yes, but they will have to do their own marketing and they will not be able to say that the product is OSE Certified. Also, it's a short sighted strategy because they are putting effort into OSE machines by building them but are not benefiting from the OSE ecosystem and the OSE Coin crypto currency.
Most people will find it easier to "go with the flow" and concentrate on the engineering, building, servicing, spending time with their friends and family and let someone else handle the marketing and brand development.
By the time OSE tools and machines are so popular that there are a lot of competitors it's likely that the OSE Coin will also be significantly more valuable keeping OSE ahead of the competition.
Competition is good.
Do buyers on the market use OSE Coins?
No. Initially the OSE Coins are an internal concept only between sellers and the OSE Market. Eventually, as the currency spreads and people start using it outside of paying for listing fees on the marketplace, it is very possible that someone will start selling OSE machines and tools entirely priced in OSE Coins.
Is this kind of like a Universal Basic Income?
That's one of the goals but not possible to absolutely guarantee in practice.
Everyone is different and contributes differently, your task as an OSE Developer is to convince your peers that whatever you are doing is worthwhile to them and the OSE mission. You get to share in the value generated by your community by being a productive member of the community. At least that part kind of sounds like UBI.
But there is no guarantee that the dividend, when converted to your local currency, will be enough to cover your living expenses. The primary intent of the dividends is to give OSE Developers priority and "free" basic access to the OSE Market, if some OSE Developers are able to use or convert their OSE Coins into local currency and live off of this then it's their prerogative. People with greater ambitions will likely want to build, sell and service the OSE tools and machines generating income beyond just the dividends.
Why do we even need money?
Even if you automate all of your needs and can live completely independent with the resources beneath your feet, there will likely be hobbies, special interests and other social needs where you'll have to interact with other human beings and pay for unique art, peoples time, services or something else we can't even imagine yet. Some exchange of value will always be useful even if it's no longer necessary to meet your basic needs.
What is the connection between the OSE Coin and the OSE Market?
Theoretically they are completely independent things. The OSE Market does not require the existence of the OSE Coin. The OSE Coin on the other hand uses the OSE Market to bootstrap its own value.
A currency only has value if someone else is willing to exchange something for it. Therefore there needs to be a demand for OSE Coin. By having the OSE Market require listing fees to be paid in OSE Coins it creates demand and a whole new separate market where people buy and sell OSE Coins. Once the OSE Coin market capitalizes sufficiently it will have a life of it's own and it will no longer be necessary for the official OSE Market to require listing fees to be paid in OSE Coin.
In summary, the OSE Coin uses the OSE Market to create demand and bootstraps its value until the OSE Coin gains enough popularity to have value on its own without the OSE Market.