What Is Amp (AMP)?

Amp (AMP) is a digitized collateral and asset token that allows for the instant settlement of transactions in any real-world application. Simply, collateral is the asset being used as security. With smart contract capabilities designed specifically for collateral, Amp seeks to assist in decentralizing risk for users. Amp aims to act as a global clearing layer for transfers, unlocking assets that would otherwise have to wait for approvals before being used.

According to the whitepaper, the key to enabling worldwide digital payments is effectively eliminating the uncertainty associated with attaining transaction finality. The more confirmations the receiver waits for with cryptocurrency transfers, the more irreversible the transaction becomes. On the other hand, waiting for many confirmations may not be feasible in many real-world circumstances, such as payments when time is of importance. Because of the inevitable tradeoff between speed and security, it has been challenging to use cryptocurrencies in the real world. Amp seeks to deliver speed without sacrificing security by acting as collateral for asset transactions.

Represented by AMP, it is the primary collateral token that aims to secure retail payments on the Flexa network, a digital payment platform with applications staked with Amp to allow spending capacity. Amp was created as a new, distinct token, and it was migrated from Flexacoin at a 1:1 ratio. Flexa relies on decentralized collateral to unconditionally and quickly guarantee all merchant transactions without relying on external protocols or network players. The primary expenses associated with the issues of funds verification and payment fraud are avoided by requiring each transaction to be completely collateralized.

AMP is an Ethereum-based token that deploys the ERC-20 standard. The whitepaper states merchants in the Flexa network are charged a nominal percentage-based fee for each transaction made. This payment is the sole acceptance cost for Flexa’s finality-as-a-service and fraud-eradication services. These revenues are then utilized to buy AMP tokens on the open market for autonomous distribution to collateral contracts.

In order to act as collateral for asset transfers, Amp seeks to offer two innovations; collateral manager and token partition. Collateral managers are similar to escrow or custody accounts designed with distinct rules and specifications that are customized to match a variety of use cases. Accordingly, using Amp as collateral, anyone may build a collateral manager to employ in situations where efficient value exchanges or escrow services are helpful. 

Further, token partitions may be understood as a standard hard disk partition in that they allow individual disk sections to be handled. The Amp token contract’s partitions enable multiple collateral managers to apply rules on separate, unique regions connected with the same digital address. Thus Amp seeks to enable users to stake tokens without having to transfer them to a smart contract physically. This function seeks to make Amp suitable for any form of value exchange, including digital payments, traditional currency exchange, loan distributions, real estate transactions, and more.

Accordingly, Amp endeavors to offer collateral for use cases such as payment networks, individual users, and DeFi platforms:

• Payment network – As a payment network, Amp is used by Flexa to offer rapid, fraudless payments to merchants throughout its network. Moreover, apps that integrate Flexa stake Amp to ensure that all payments, regardless of asset or protocol, may be cleared in real time. 

• Individual users – Users may utilize Amp to collateralize their asset transactions for instances such as margin relief on an exchange. By delegating Amp to a collateral manager, users may transfer another asset without incurring hefty transaction fees. Since Amp is essentially escrowed against the transaction amount, the exchange counterparty lets the underlying asset be used instantly.

• DeFi platforms – Numerous DeFi protocols and platforms incorporate Amp into their platforms due to the surge in global finance, which seeks to improve the collateral quality.

History of Amp (AMP)

On September 8, 2020, Amp was created through collaboration and partnership between Flexa and ConsenSys. Flexa is a payment network that created Amp, and ConsenSys is a software engineering company focusing on Ethereum. Flexa’s consistent approach to DeFi and the development of innovative technologies that democratize payment access for people worldwide was reflected through Amp. Flexa’s CEO is Tyler Spalding, and since September 30, 2020, Flexacoin has been migrated to Amp. Later on November 24, 2020, Amp released its whitepaper.

How Are New AMP Tokens Created, Staked, and Earned?

The Amp platform states that staking serves as collateral for payments on networks such as Flexa. Applications and communities jointly stake AMP tokens on behalf of users to allow payment capabilities. As a return for giving collateral, the whole network transaction revenue is used to support the continual open-market purchase of Amp tokens for redistribution as network incentives. Flexa decentralizes transaction insurance by separating merchant settlement from the original customer payment to deliver timely finality-as-a-service.

As mentioned earlier, merchants are charged a fee for each transaction made. These network incentives are distributed to network participants pro-rata based on the amount of Amp staked. Staking Amp seeks to improve overall utility by increasing in proportion to the number of users and transactions (e.g., customers, wallets, merchants) that join the network. As a result of technological innovations, Amp seeks to drive network economic growth through adoption and payment volume (i.e., productivity output). Consequently, as token prices rise, so does adoption (i.e., staking), and the Amp staking cycle seeks to become more systematic and more connected with consumption.

This vicious cycle of growing payment utility, collateral requirements, and compounding incentives is the foundation for ensuring that all Flexa network value is captured into Amp tokens.

In addition, the platform states that AMP tokens can also be staked on Gemini Earn for passive income.

How to Purchase AMP Tokens

The AMP token can be easily traded using exchanges like Coinbase.