© 2024 Orchid Technologies
*All references to “Orchid” are intended to refer to the Orchid platform.
HOW IT WORKS
Providers run a server that talks to a decentralized directory running on Ethereum
and stake OXT in it to compete for inbound service requests (stake-weighted random selection). Payment is
settled via Orchid’s own L2/L3 using streaming probabilistic nanopayments.
The Orchid project includes a VPN application, available for iOS/macOS/Android. The app purchases
VPN service from the Orchid bandwidth marketplace by making a request to the directory and then connecting
to a provider and paying for VPN service with nanopayments.
EXPLORE
THE CORE COMPONENTS OF ORCHID
PROBABALISTIC NANOPAYMENTS
The probabilistic nanopayment ecosystem is the foundation of the Orchid marketplace. Instead of sending
funds for every unit of service and incurring processing fees on every transaction, Orchid accounts send
lottery tickets to providers to achieve a low per-unit cost through consolidating transactions to fewer
overall “payments”.
Probabilistic nanopayments allow users to directly pay for services
(bandwidth, storage, API calls, etc.) at a much lower rate than traditional payment protocols.
Nanopayments: When I Didn’t Know Who to Trust, I Turned to Probability
Discover how probabilistic nanopayments are transforming digital transactions. In her latest
article, Dr. Chloe Avery explores how leveraging probability and the law of large numbers can
minimize trust issues and transaction costs, paving the way for seamless, flexible, pay-as-you-go
services.
OXT & TOKEN STAKING
Providers stake OXT to enter the Orchid marketplace. Through Orchid’s stake-weighted selection algorithm, users are randomly connected to providers proportionate to the amount of OXT staked by the provider; the larger the stake, the more likely a user is connected!
ORCHID ACCOUNTS
Orchid accounts are the center of Orchid’s “probabilistic rollup” nanopayment system, enabling a
stream of tiny payments sent from the account owner to a provider for services. They’re built on two
components: the layer 1 wallet address for funding the account, and the layer 2 Orchid identity
for facilitating transactions.
Once an account is created, there are two elements necessary
to send payments: the deposit, which determines the value of your account’s tickets, and the balance, which determines the amount of tickets available to spend.
THE ORCHID PROTOCOL
The Orchid software is designed to use a custom VPN protocol, similar in scope to OpenVPN or WireGuard. The Orchid protocol is designed for high-performance networking and runs on top of WebRTC, a common web standard, widely used to transmit video and audio from inside browsers. The Orchid protocol allows users to request access to remote network resources and pay for these resources using cryptocurrencies via the Orchid nanopayments system.
FREQUENTLY
ASKED QUESTIONS
HOW DO I FUND MY ACCOUNT?
The simplest solution is to use the Account Funding Widget. The widget outlines the minimum balance, deposit, and gas fees required to start an account with your choice of nine partnered currencies.
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WHAT ARE TICKETS?
Tickets are how you pay providers in the Orchid nanopayment ecosystem. As you use the services in Orchid’s decentralized marketplaces, tickets will be constantly sent to your provider in lieu of currency.
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WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN BALANCE AND DEPOSIT?
Balance and deposit accomplish two different tasks: the deposit determines the value of your tickets
(equal to half the total amount of your deposit), while the balance determines the amount of tickets you
can send before service is interrupted.
In addition, funds held in the balance can be
withdrawn instantly, while funds held in the deposit aren’t available until they are “unlocked” and the
24-hour unlocking window has passed.
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WHY HASN’T MY BALANCE CHANGED?
While you are constantly sending out “lottery tickets” as you use an Orchid service, only a small amount of those lottery tickets are successfully paid to the provider. As such, it’s possible for users to have extended periods of time paying below the expected costs of service, due to the nature of probability.
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WHY DO YOU RECOMMEND ONLY FOUR TICKETS?
Orchid’s nanopayment tickets are similar to lottery tickets: not every ticket you send will successfully disburse funds to your provider.
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