1 week ago
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PRESS RELEASE
- The Olas Foundation’s protocol seeks to harness the power of blockchain technology to make all non-private information freely available and to drive positive change in the media landscape.
- Founded in Dublin by Irish entrepreneur and crypto veteran Ciarán Murray, Olas tackles the economic precarity facing media with the introduction of novel funding mechanisms and tackles the dissemination of disinformation through open but collusion-resistant review protocols, providing a viable alternative to traditional media.
Dublin, 23rd April 2024 – Today marks the launch of The Olas Foundation, a non-profit that stewards protocol development, harnessing blockchain technology to democratise access to non-private information, with the goal of becoming the most trusted media platform on the internet. Centred around the idea of “Decentralised Knowledge”, Olas seeks to create a truly ownerless media institution based on open internet protocols rather than privately owned platforms. Recognising the current problems that exist in the media industry, Olas’ platform will provide an economically sustainable solution to journalists and news institutions, minimising the influence of concentrated interests, and incentivising the publication of unbiased and accurate information.
Founded by serial entrepreneur, Ciarán Murray, the platform aims to offer an alternative to the current knowledge sharing system. Olas is revolutionising how we share and consume information; its decentralised structure ensures that no singular entity holds control, while disseminating power to users. To achieve this, Olas looks to implement market and reputation-based protocols to incentivise accuracy, integrity and reliability in the platform’s content to create a highly trustworthy information platform. Its quality control mechanism incentivises knowledgeable reader participation in the review of information published, ensuring high standards are adhered to in the production of news and information.
Speaking on the launch of the project, Ciarán Murray, CEO and Founder said, “We are passionate about the preservation of high-quality journalism and scientific research, while increasing its availability to the public. The current media industry is facing a dire economic situation and is plagued with bias and a resultant lack of trust. Olas aims to minimise bias and return more value to content creators by removing hierarchical control of the media.
It also introduces a subsidy-based economic model that will harness new payment technologies to achieve scale, thus providing an alternative to the subscription and advertising models that are failing to sustain the sector. Olas is providing a solution to this problem.”
As CEO and Founder, Murray holds a wealth of experience in the blockchain and Web3 space. Aside from advising on numerous blockchain projects throughout the years, and releasing a synthetics assets proof-of-concept last year, Ciarán previously worked in the media industry for British Sky Broadcasting, making him not only well placed to understand the issues facing the media industry but also how to apply blockchain and other distributed technologies to remedy them.
Olas’s content will be composed of independent contributions from various individuals, with payouts to contributors dependent on performance in review markets. Its quadratic funding model provides the industry with a much more suitable and sustainable economic model for information than the advertising and subscriptions models.
The platform will also enable payments to contributors in the form of tipping, which will be as easy as liking a post on social media. Murray expects the model to return far more value to journalists and scientists than legacy systems.
The information on the Olas database will be freely accessible to all. Review markets will decide the quality and accuracy of information, with funds returned to the protocol from low quality content being recycled into supporting future contributors. Olas’ upcoming token sale will provide the opportunity to support the company’s mission and contribute to the future of the organisation.
About Olas
Olas is a publicly accessible publishing protocol and database of vetted informational sources, such as news, opinions and scientific articles. Founded by CEO Ciarán Murray in 2024 as the solution to the contemporary information crisis, Olas is a viable alternative to the current knowledge sharing system. Powered by blockchain technology, with economic mechanisms in place to ensure accuracy and minimise bias in the information on the platform, Olas looks to become the future of media and information sharing globally.
About Ciarán Murray
Olas was founded by Ciarán Murray, a seasoned veteran of the blockchain industry. Aside from advising on numerous blockchain projects down the years, and releasing a synthetics assets proof-of-concept last year, Ciarán previously worked in the media industry for British Sky Broadcasting. He is not only well placed to understand the issues facing the media industry but also how to apply blockchain and other distributed technologies to remedy them.
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