By Kyle Perkins
What is an OHM? Well, to understand that, you need to understand what an ARG is first. I recently wrote an article about the very bizarre, but wonderful world of alternate reality games, and after doing so, I found myself down another rabbit hole. Scan the image below to begin your journey(or click here).
I came across this symbol online, while looking for new ARGs to participate in. Upon scanning this symbol, it took me to a bizarre site, full of odd symbols, and many statements that seem incoherent. I knew right then, that I had found the next big ARG.
In an ARG, everything is a clue, and you look deeper and deeper down the rabbit hole for any information that you can find. It’s not necessarily so that you can “win,” but so that you can truly understand the lore of the game you’re playing. So, a few friends and I made a discord to discuss the symbols, codes, and anything relating to the game we’re all now playing(I recommend you play with a few yourself). That’s when I came across the page describing rewards for acts of kindness. This really got my attention.
Ever hear of a little thing called bitcoin? Back in 2009, a guy created bitcoin, which is a peer to peer cryptocurrency. Meaning that it can be used to buy goods and services, but its value is determined by how many people use it, and believe it’s real(sort of like real money). It’s all decentralized, so no single entity owns it. It’s is owned by the people. OHM is in its beginning stages, but bitcoin was at first, too. Actually, the first transaction ever made was to have pizza delivered. If that guy held onto his original 10k in bitcoin, he’s a millionaire today.
What excites me about this cryptocurrency is that it’s connected to an ARG, and you can earn more by doing acts of kindness, and proving that you have. New cryptocurrencies pop up on a daily basis, just like new stocks. The system is very similar, with value fluctuating constantly. However, you don’t have to put any money into this if you don’t want to. You earn this currency by simply being. All you need is a wallet. So, for the next few steps, I’m going to show you how to set up a wallet, and start minting(where you make money based on transactions of other people using the currency). It’s the same thing that bitcoin miners do, except there is no need for a strong CPU, or enough electricity to power a city block. Your computer, by simply being on, will earn OHM anytime someone completes an act of kindness, or a transaction is made using the currency. It’s explained well on the OHM tab of the ARG.
“Let us explicate with an example. Pretend there exist three Applicants – Aleph, Mem, and Shin.
Aleph plants a Seed, provides evidence to the Chancellor, and as a result is rewarded with 500 OHM. In accordance with our Law of Being, an equal amount will be distributed evenly among ALL Applicants. As there is 500 OHM to be divided between Mem, and Shin, they will receive 250 OHM each. Yes, Mem and Shin are rewarded for the actions of Aleph.”
Cool right? A game that pays you.
Now, let’s get started on setting up your wallet.
Then you’ll need to follow these steps.
Start by selecting the platform that you’ll be using.
Then run the setup.
Once you’ve hit run:
Just hit next. Then:
Click no. Since you likely don’t have another OHM wallet.
Now, your wallet will be out of sync with the network, and it may take a bit for it to sync up. In the mean time, I would recommend setting up discord.
Discord is an app that operates as a chat room, where you can either type, or get on a mic. The devs behind OHM have a room there, where the devs pay you for voting for the new currency(we’ll get into that later).
The link is here.
First:
Click the register button and sign up like with anything else.
After you’ve signed up for discord, everything on the app should look pretty bare. So, we need to go back to your wallet.
First thing you need to do is encrypt it.
Write this password down somewhere. You can’t access your money without it.
Now it will close and you’ll need to restart the app.
After you restart, don’t forget to unlock your wallet so that you can receive OHM. (You’ll need to do this any time you restart the app)
To receive money, you’ll need to select the receive coins tab.
Then copy the address(PS: That is not my address). You’ll need that so that the devs can send you money for showing proof of your vote, and so that you can be paid for doing in game tasks.
For information on how to vote, just visit this area of the discord.
Remember to keep your wallet on to receive OHM and to mint. Put it on a computer that you can leave on for long periods of time!
Anyway, I hoped you enjoyed this article, and share it with as many people as possible. The currency and the game are both brand new, and we’d love to have more people involved in the ARG. Just remember to scan the symbol at the top of the article to start your journey down the rabbit hole.
If you’d like to convert your OHM to other currencies, just click here.
If you’d like to join the discussion, either stay in the discord or go here.