Ocean Protocol

By Rayna Ishihara | Crescent City Capital Market Analyst Intern

What is Ocean Protocol

Ocean is an open-source protocol leveraging the Ethereum blockchain to enable the exchange and monetization of data and data-based services. Using ‘datatokens,’ Ocean restricts access to data sets, which users redeem when seeking information. The protocol’s primary goal is to provide a platform for businesses and individuals to share data without relinquishing control over it. Participants, acting as data providers, are rewarded with OCEAN, the native cryptocurrency, for their contributions.

The OCEAN token plays a versatile role within the protocol, serving as a means to validate datatokens, participate in governance, and facilitate the buying and selling of data. Ocean Protocol’s software acts as a bridge, connecting users in need of data or lacking storage resources with those able to provide surplus resources. Marketplaces like Ocean Market, developed by the Ocean team, implement the protocol to enable transparent transactions of datatokens, enhancing accessibility and value within the ecosystem. Established in 2017, Ocean Protocol pioneers a crypto-driven approach to data services, emphasizing privacy preservation, control, and income opportunities for data owners, making it especially valuable for AI practitioners and data scientists.

The Ocean Protocol introduces innovative concepts like compute-to-data, allowing AI models and research to leverage private data without direct sharing. Users can earn rewards by curating data through staking, while developers have the flexibility to create decentralized marketplaces, wallets, and more using Ocean Libraries. In essence, OCEAN serves as the default unit of exchange, governing element, and stake in the ecosystem, fostering a dynamic marketplace for secure and incentivized data transactions on the Ocean platform.

How does Ocean Protocol work

Datatokens on Ocean Protocol link data assets to blockchain and decentralized finance. Providers create and sell data services using these ERC-20 tokens, while consumers use them for access. On the Ocean Market, datatoken prices adjust automatically in Balancer-powered pools, offering flexibility in pricing strategies. OCEAN holders can curate data by staking tokens in liquidity pools, earning fees but facing risks like impermanent loss and rug pulls. Ocean Protocol streamlines data access and pricing dynamics, integrating decentralized finance elements for both providers and consumers.

DataToken

Datatokens form the core of the Ocean Protocol platform, representing specific datasets and services as ERC-20 tokens. These tokens, bought on the Ocean marketplace, grant access to corresponding data by sending them to the provider. Unlike the data itself, datatokens control access and can be stored in wallets with ERC-20 support. Users spend datatokens for time-limited or compute-to-data access, allowing secure algorithm execution on datasets. This structural security distinguishes Ocean Protocol from other data marketplaces.

Ocean Market

Ocean Market, the decentralized exchange for data on Ocean Protocol, offers various earning opportunities. Data providers can list and sell datasets by tokenizing them as datatokens in Initial Data Offerings (IDOs). Prices are determined through fixed rates or automated market maker (AMM) mechanisms powered by Balancer. Sellers retain most proceeds, with a small portion (typically 0.3%) distributed to stakers, the marketplace, and the Ocean community.

Staking on Ocean Protocol involves OCEAN token holders providing liquidity for specific datasets, earning a percentage of exchange fees. Stakers can curate datasets, choosing those with higher volumes for increased OCEAN rewards. The platform also encourages the creation of personal data markets, either by forking Ocean Protocol or using provided code libraries. The 0.3% exchange fee supports sustainable market growth, with two-thirds allocated to the Ocean community for initiatives like the OceanDAO and platform improvement.

Recent Updates

The live OCEAN price on November 13th  is $0.4274 USD with a 24-hour trading volume of $49.988.644 USD. It has a circulating supply of 568,381,103 OCEAN tokens.

The price of Litecoin has increased by 4.94% in the past 7 days, and increased by 46.52% in the past months. Litecoin is 78.59% below the all time high of $1.94.

From the technical perspective

As discussed in the article, the price of OCEAN last week experienced a 4.94% increase, reaching $0.4134. Over the course of the preceding month, OCEAN demonstrated a noteworthy surge, rising by 78.59% from $0.286 to the current price of $0.4274. This marked increase in value prompts an analysis of potential reasons, with the expectation of a continued upward trajectory for OCEAN. In summary, the prevailing upward trend can be attributed to the token’s adept ability to establish and respond to support and resistance levels, resulting in subsequent rebounds and pushbacks.

Provided below is a chart displaying the most recent support and resistance lines.

The identified resistance line in the chart is approximately $0.336. An examination of the chart reveals that OCEAN has persistently attempted to surpass this resistance since mid-August, making repeated efforts to breach this barrier and establish a new price level. Over the span of two months, OCEAN encountered the resistance line four times. Despite consistent retracements, pushing the price back to its support line around $0.306, a breakthrough occurred on October 27th. Subsequently, the price has exhibited continuous growth since late October, reaching the current level of $0.4274 after testing the lower support line at $0.276 twice last month.

Provided below is a chart displaying the most Relative Strength Index

As commonly recognized, RSI levels below 30 generate buy signals, suggesting an oversold or undervalued condition, while levels above 70 generate sell signals, indicating an overbought or overvalued situation.

Analyzing the chart above, it is evident that OCEAN’s RSI values consistently oscillate between the 30 to 70 range, reflecting a neutral level that balances bullish and bearish positions. Although there was a slight breach above 70 two weeks ago, the subsequent downward trend signifies a shift in consumer confidence towards the Ocean Protocol.

Despite missing the late October price surge, I maintain confidence in the future price trajectory of OCEAN. The current scenario presents an opportune moment for investment in the Ocean Protocol. While a minor pullback may be possible, there is potential for the price to reach $0.47 later this year.

References

tps://kriptomat.io/cryptocurrencies/ocean-protocol/what-is-ocean-protocol/

https://www.kraken.com/learn/what-is-ocean-protocol

https://coinmarketcap.com/currencies/ocean-protocol/

https://www.tradingview.com/chart/zrsQqqcn/?symbol=BINANCE%3AOCEANUSD

https://www.gemini.com/cryptopedia/ocean-protocol-web-3-0-ocean-market-ocean-token