Augur, the blockchain based platform which gives out rewards based on how accurately its users predict the outcomes of events, has finally launched its own mainnet.
Originally Augur (REP) used Ethereum based (ERC-20) tokens during its initial coin offering (ICO) period with ethereum’s founder Vitalik Buterin being one of the biggest supporters of the platform. Now though Augur is moving away from etherium's smart contracts with all their other services such as the app set to go online soon.
With the move, Augur became the latest addition to the list of platform which includes TRON, EOS, and Vechain’s Thor have decided to give up the ERC-20 tokens in favour of their own.
Augur has been described as a gambling platform by some, but the house will not always win here since predictions are being made on a decentralized and transparent environment; meaning there is no house, to begin with.
Basically, you can either bet on one of the existing predictions on the system or issue your own and let other users vote using your own prediction as a benchmark. The system will reward those who correctly foresaw how the future unfolds.
For a smooth migration users were advised to transfer their assets to a centralized crypto exchange if they previously kept them in a decentralized one:
“If you have REP in the Ether/ForkDelta or IDEX exchange contracts — you must withdrawal it prior to the migration on Monday, July 9th at 11:01AM PT to successfully receive new REP in the migration”