Olympus is a decentralised finance (DeFi) project, specifically a protocol, which is designed to create a stable digital currency backed by a decentralised treasury. It operates on the Ethereum blockchain and uses various financial mechanisms to maintain the value of its native token, OHM. The project aims to move away from stablecoins backed by traditional fiat currencies by instead using a portfolio of crypto assets as collateral.
Olympus utilises two main mechanisms: bonding and staking.
Bonding refers to the process where users can purchase OHM tokens at a discounted rate by contributing other cryptocurrencies or assets. This mechanism helps expand the project's treasury, allowing it to back each OHM with intrinsic value.
Staking allows holders of OHM tokens to lock up their assets in the network. In return, they earn staking rewards, primarily sourced from the protocol's treasury growth through bonding. This incentivises holding OHM over the long term.
Olympus has several potential use cases:
Olympus DAO was launched in 2021 by a pseudo-anonymous group led under the alias "Zeus". From inception, it gained recognition for its innovative approach in the DeFi space, particularly with its bonding and staking mechanism and the promotion of a treasury-backed reserve currency model. The protocol rapidly achieved significant milestones, including the accumulation of a substantial treasury. The success of Olympus has also led to the creation of several forks, which attempt to replicate or adapt its model for various specific purposes.