What is OMG coin? Your ultimate guide
OMG coin promises to make transferring money between platforms easier, but what is it?
In this guide
One of the most significant developments on the internet over the last 20 years is the rise of digital payment platforms. Rather than pay directly through a debit or credit card, you can use one of the many platforms available to transfer cash for payments. The idea is that these services provide extra degrees of security and privacy, and, at least in theory, a backup in case anything goes wrong. But while it’s relatively easy to make payments via a platform, it can be very difficult to transfer money from one platform to another.
This is where the Omisego system came in. It’s an offshoot of Thai payments processor Omise, which was founded in 2013. In 2015, the company set up the Omise Blockchain Lab to find out whether it could use the blockchain to help process payments. Omisego was launched in 2017, running its native cryptocurrency, the OMG coin. It was funded by a sale of 65% of the OMG coin supply, which raised $25m. On 1 June 2020, Omisego was rebranded as OMG Network.
So how does it work?
The OMG Network is based on the Ethereum system. Assets on OMG can, potentially, be backed by ETH. The network is based on a proof-of-stake blockchain, designed to clear and settle the movement of assets between wallets without them having to trust each other. There’s also a trading engine built into the network which allows wallet providers to make orders which can then be matched with other providers. People can use wallets to trade in crypto and fiat currencies.
The network uses a modified version of the Plasma system, allowing users to transfer ERC-20 tokens and ETH faster and cheaper than when working on the Ethereum network itself. This allows it to process thousands of transactions per second, as opposed to between 10 and 14 on the Ethereum network.
What is OMG coin?
OMG coin is the OMG Network’s native token, based on the Ethereum protocol. If someone wants to carry out a transaction or honour a contract on the network, they have to pay with OMG coin. Every time someone uses the network, they pay with OMG coin. The token is then sent out to nodes, or validators, on the OMG Network that enforce smart contracts, according to the network’s rules. These nodes stake their OMG coin by locking it into a smart contract. If you create a contract, you can stake your tokens. Fail to honour the contract, or break the rules, and the tokens can be taken from you. This helps limit the number of tokens in circulation, maintaining their value.
What is your sentiment on OMG/USD?
The’re a total supply of 140,245,399 OMG coins, of which 140,245,398.25 are in circulation. As we’ve already seen, 65% of these were sold to raise funds and launch the network. A further 20% were set aside to help run the network, 9.9% was given to the company’s founders and 5% sent to anyone with an Ethereum wallet containing more than 0.1 ETH. The idea was that this would serve as a de facto payment to Ethereum.
That’s the OMG coin explained. But what about the token’s value?
OMG coin price history
When OMG coin launched in July 2017, it was worth around $0.32. It was a very hot property and by early September, it had broken the $11 barrier – a rise of around 3,337% in less than two months. The price then fluctuated a little until the cryptoboom of early 2018 saw its value skyrocket. On 8 January 2018, OMG hit its all time high of $28.35 – a rise of more than 8,750% from its launch six months earlier.
A big fall followed the boom, and by the end of 2018 the coin was down to $1.421, a loss of almost 95% from nearly a year earlier. OMG couldn’t maintain that price and was down to below $0.6 by the mid-December 2019. It then started to rise. The end of 2020 and the start of 2021 were marked by a boom in the cryptocurrency market, and OMG coin was a beneficiary. It rallied to $6.4138 in August 2020 as a rebrand took effect, closing the year at $2.4336.
The start of 2021 was a key time. It topped its August position in mid-February and broke the $10 barrier on April 16. It then shot up to $14.86 on May 7 before crashing to $3.7905 on May 23, a fall of just under 75% in little over two weeks. There was some stability over the next month, and on 21 June it stood at around $3.81.
OMG/USD price history
| Date | Close | Change | Change(%) | Open | High | Low |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 8, 2022 | 2.3501 | 0.0250 | 1.08% | 2.3251 | 2.3570 | 2.3102 |
| Aug 7, 2022 | 2.3241 | -0.0030 | -0.13% | 2.3271 | 2.3630 | 2.2852 |
| Aug 6, 2022 | 2.3281 | -0.0220 | -0.94% | 2.3501 | 2.4348 | 2.3161 |
| Aug 5, 2022 | 2.3491 | 0.1596 | 7.29% | 2.1895 | 2.3870 | 2.1785 |
| Aug 4, 2022 | 2.1905 | 0.0459 | 2.14% | 2.1446 | 2.2373 | 2.1386 |
| Aug 3, 2022 | 2.1446 | -0.0020 | -0.09% | 2.1466 | 2.2463 | 2.0827 |
| Aug 2, 2022 | 2.1466 | -0.1137 | -5.03% | 2.2603 | 2.2683 | 2.0738 |
| Aug 1, 2022 | 2.2593 | 0.0659 | 3.00% | 2.1934 | 2.3062 | 2.1775 |
| Jul 31, 2022 | 2.1934 | -0.0529 | -2.35% | 2.2463 | 2.3131 | 2.1875 |
| Jul 30, 2022 | 2.2443 | -0.0269 | -1.18% | 2.2712 | 2.4049 | 2.2413 |
| Jul 29, 2022 | 2.2722 | -0.0389 | -1.68% | 2.3111 | 2.4259 | 2.2194 |
| Jul 28, 2022 | 2.3111 | 0.3122 | 15.62% | 1.9989 | 2.3830 | 1.9441 |
| Jul 27, 2022 | 1.9999 | 0.1366 | 7.33% | 1.8633 | 2.0009 | 1.8224 |
| Jul 26, 2022 | 1.8633 | 0.0320 | 1.75% | 1.8313 | 1.8663 | 1.7695 |
| Jul 25, 2022 | 1.8313 | -0.2065 | -10.13% | 2.0378 | 2.0578 | 1.8274 |
| Jul 24, 2022 | 2.0388 | -0.0300 | -1.45% | 2.0688 | 2.1007 | 2.0278 |
| Jul 23, 2022 | 2.0688 | 0.0609 | 3.03% | 2.0079 | 2.1555 | 1.9790 |
| Jul 22, 2022 | 2.0069 | 0.0898 | 4.68% | 1.9171 | 2.1915 | 1.9072 |
| Jul 21, 2022 | 1.9181 | 0.0419 | 2.23% | 1.8762 | 1.9341 | 1.8194 |
| Jul 20, 2022 | 1.8762 | -0.1267 | -6.33% | 2.0029 | 2.0468 | 1.8553 |
FAQs
There’s a total supply of 140,245,399 OMG coins, of which 140,245,398.25 are in circulation. OMG can’t be mined, so there’s a limited supply.
OMG coin began trading in July 2017. The OMG Network has existed in one form or another as the Omisego network and associated companies since 2013. It changed its name to the current version in mid-2020.
If you’re interested in buying OMG, why not invest on currency.com? Just remember to do your research and don’t invest more than you can afford to lose.
