Ohm: A New Coin with an Old Purpose

Ohm is a proof-of-stake coin created in March of this year. An initial proof-of-work pre-mine hit 6% of the 500 million total coinage, and is now being used for giveaways through the alternate reality gaming community, to help spread awareness. The variable POS APR begins at 20%, reducing gradually down to 5% over the course of several years. There's a 30-second block target, with 30 confirmations for minted blocks, and 4 per transaction. Ohm has been publicly traded since mid-May.

This is important information about the technical side of this new currency, but it doesn't say a lot about what Ohm really is. Like most successful cryptocurrencies, Ohm is associated with a growing community, through which its ideals are being spread with a purpose. People have been drawn to the coin by their interpretation of its name, which carries many different meanings, and by its message: the spread of positive thinking, and of random acts of kindness.

The question becomes "how do we get from that, to Ohm's much-vaunted mission of changing the world?" The simple answer is "one transaction at a time," rewarding actions that serve to brighten a person's day, make a change in the life of someone less fortunate, and otherwise remind us all of the immutable power of positive action. Through hard work, patience and acceptance, nothing is impossible.

Ohm, and Random Acts of Kindness

Prior to Ohm Wallet's partnership with the alternate reality game SVV, distribution was accomplished in three phases. Broadly speaking, the coin was distributed in response to enthusiasts' random acts of kindness, a practice which is ongoing. Spreading the general message, leaving a positive comment (not related to Ohm) on someone's social media profile, donating canned goods to a food bank; photographic evidence of these actions (and many others like them) have all earned Ohm for those who are interested in being a part of the movement.

Ohm is poised to change the world -- not in some vague, ethereal sense, nor through the establishment of new laws or policies, but through the provision of a simple, everyday reminder to engage positively with other human beings. Ohm reminds us daily that none of us exist in a vacuum. We all rely on other people; we want to have a positive impact on other peoples' lives, and to be well-regarded for our conduct and our character.
Some new coins are developed through multi-million-dollar investment portfolios; Ohm is being developed by a team of volunteers, some of whom have contributed substantially of their own personal resources to reward those who find their way to the Ohm community.

This kind of dedication and enthusiasm is made possible by the pure truth of Ohm's message: practice random acts of kindness, engage with other people constructively, and you will inevitably make the world into a better place. This idea doesn't require a great leap of the imagination. It is the obvious result of treating other human beings with acceptance, compassion and patience.

Sodalitas Vulturis Volantis: An ARG with a Purpose

Alternate reality gaming grew out of the geocaching community. Geocaching involves tracking down hidden caches of personalized tokens, leaving your own token with the rest, and then hunting down the next secret location. An alternate reality game typically revolves around the solving of cryptic puzzles, on a level reminiscent of the hit 1990s computer game MYST (as well as its successors, most notably RIVEN).

Sodalitas Vulturis Volantis is an alternate reality game which, like Ohm, revolves around the concept of helping others and engaging in positive behavior. Like most such games, it has its own internal lore, blending real-world mythology and legend with fictional elements, resulting in a series of unique numerical puzzles and linguistic challenges. The nature of these puzzles is such that their solutions are expedited through working together, and Ohm is often rewarded to players based upon help provided to those with whom they are known to be associated.

Through the partnership between Ohm Wallet and SVV, Ohm is being advertised to interested people outside of the current crypto community. The hope is that, in addition to encouraging positivity and rewarding existing enthusiasts, Ohm will help to bring inquisitive newcomers on board with Bitcoin and its other alternatives.

The Meaning of Ohm

In physics, the Ohm is a unit of measurement for resistance. It measures resistance to one of the fundamental forces of nature, electricity. There are several fundamental forces in the universe, and some have argued for the conceptual addition of a new one: human greed, or arrogance. I prefer to call it "ego," which feels a little more fundamental. Whatever you wish to call it, there can be no doubt that it has profoundly shaped the development of our society at virtually every step.

The second part of Ohm's mission is the idea of resistance: in this case, resistance to destructive impulses, the negative use of economic influence, and the casual depiction (and subsequent acceptance) of the inherent wickedness of money.

Even into the 20th century, conquerors were still imposing their personal will over great swathes of our shared planet. The role of money as a convenient medium for shared value has been overshadowed by those who use it to broadcast their personal greatness. It's no coincidence that so many of the super-wealthy end their lives as philanthropists: whether they're buying a yacht, or purchasing a legacy, it's all about what they can do for themselves, to ensure that other people look up to them with wonder and awe.

Money has long been used for selfish and ruthless ends. Two world leaders get into a sparring match, and they make policy to affect each other out of spite. Millions of people suffer, immediately and directly, but we have all been conditioned to accept this as being the unavoidable nature of things. Cryptocurrency has already proven the viability of decentralized currencies, along with the willingness of a great many people to put time, energy and resources into their proliferation.

Ohm, through its developers, seeks to further this cause as that of a philosophical movement. We dream of the day that decentralized currency can be stored at the bank down the street, or spent at the local grocery store. It is a goal that seems less far-fetched now than it did several years ago, with thousands of merchants accepting Bitcoin as payment within the United States alone.

EDIT: The Ohm Wallet team would like to take this opportunity to clarify the extent and the depth of the partnership with SVV, and how crucial that has been to the coin's development. Promoting the positive potential of currency has been Ohm's mission from the start, but the extent to which the rewarding of acts of kindness has guided the direction of our development is largely the consequence of SVV's involvement. We would not be where we are without their partnership, and we would just as certainly not be so well-positioned for continued advancement. Our thanks are owed to @wvlf, and to the entire team at Sodalitas Vulturis Volantis.