Ternio Logo From Ternio Telegram Channel
Ternio’s TERN is a utility token fresh out of ICO status after a successful presale and airdrop phase that garnered no small amount of attention. While at first glance, this token may seem unremarkable, as you look at the entirety of the project, it’s hard not to get excited about the potential. Let’s take a look at the token, the company surrounding it, and where it’s headed.
Since this is a layman’s guide, it is meant a broad overview to help people understand the project, not as a technical treatise. It is based on my own understanding of the project, and beyond participating in the Ternio airdrop, I have no affiliation with the company. All errors are mine, but you’re doing your own research since this isn’t financial advice, nor am I a financial advisor, right? Right.
What Is Ternio?
Ternio is a fresh new company founded by Daniel Gouldman, Ian Kane, and Bryant Maroney that brings blockchain to the digital programmatic advertising space. They do this through a proprietary platform they’re calling Lexicon. The TERN token can be used as payments for services on this chain or traded on exchanges. Throughout the process, the founders have been adamant that, as special as the token itself can be as an instrument of value, Lexicon was the key.
What Is Lexicon?
Lexicon is a proprietary system developed by Ternio. It made waves recently when third-party verification was released showing the system easily handling in excess of one million transactions per second, a speed which many were skeptical about, yet which Ternio’s founders believe they can push even farther. It is based on Hyperledger, already known for its comparative speed versus other blockchains, but also runs on top of Stellar, which it uses for payment transmissions. This dual-pronged approach allows a blazing fast record of transactions with an already established and speedy payment system to address the problems with digital programmatic advertising.
One thing that differs from many other tokens is the closed-source nature of this project. You won’t find Lexicon on GitHub, and that’s exactly the way the founders want it. While it may be anathema to some crypto-enthusiasts, Ternio is a business, and the IP is being treated as such. While this may be a deal breaker for some investors, the founders have promised to reveal additional information as it becomes protected under the US patent process.
What’s With Programmatic Advertising?
Programmatic advertising refers to the real-time buying of ads targeting their audience online. The buyer often pays for impressions, or how many eyes the advertising is delivered too. Like the larger advertising and marketing ecosystem, programmatic advertising has two key problems: fraud and waste.
There are plenty of entities promising impressions they don’t actually deliver. In addition, there are frequently a number of intermediaries during the journey from buyer to publisher that add no value. They simply pass the order along to the next entity for a fee. The result is a system where a significant percentage of a buyer’s price is, in effect, wasted money.
How Does Lexicon Change Programmatic Advertising?
Lexicon brings transparency to programmatic advertising by allowing visibility and transparency up and down the chain of the ad buy. Buyers can see every step of the journey, allowing them to eliminate brokers or entities that add no value to the system. They’ll have real, actionable data that lets them make decisions that directly affect their bottom line, encouraging efficiency and saving them money.
Publishers, meanwhile, have the ability to help buyers eliminate this waste. In the process, Lexicon also allows net-zero payments. Rather than waiting three to six months to get paid, the buyer can be given the verified information they need to pay within twenty-four hours via TERN tokens. Lexicon has the potential to create a leaner, meaner programmatic advertising landscape.
What’s Up With TERN tokens?
TERN tokens are an asset on the Stellar chain, an established blockchain that already sees modest use. TERNs are the payment method used on Lexicon, but they are also traded on exchanges for other cryptocurrencies and tokens. As of the time of this writing, they are trading actively on StellarTerm, BitForex, and StellarPort with the founders promising more exchanges, including top-10 and -20 exchanges in the future.
What About The Founders?
Daniel, Ian, and Bryant are smart--scary smart. Each brings a core set of competencies that is well suited to the Ternio program, both in the advertising space and on a technical level. Around them, they’ve assembled a credible collection of advisors and experts meant to shore up any gaps and spot pitfalls. Daniel has often served as the face of the company, delivering speeches at conferences and talking to strategic partners, however, the team (from the outside) appears to work well together and be dedicated to building something great.
What Is The Likelihood Of Adoption?
To me, it looks pretty good. Between industry connections and a thorough creation process, Ternio is well positioned to solve the problem it was created to fix. Initial runs have already been set up with advertising partners, and if all goes well, it will be far more expensive for companies to forego Lexicon than to get on board.
What’s In The Future For Ternio?
Make no mistake, Ternio’s founders dream big, but it’s hard to argue with them. In fact, listening to them makes their enthusiasm and confidence downright contagious. While they are starting in a niche they know, there are plenty of industries where a scalable system like Lexicon would thrive. Payments, financial services, insurance, and more could all benefit from a system providing verifiable transparency of transactions and fast payment resolution.
Meanwhile, Ternio is exploring a Block Card which would serve as a sort of crypto debit card accepted alongside other payment instruments like Visa and Mastercard. While the idea may not be new, the long-term successful realization of it would be. The idea is as easy to laugh off as, say, a million transactions per second was just a few months ago.
Where Can I Find Out More?
Ternio’s Official Website - https://ternio.io/
Ternio’s Official YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCqNyT4SjTzsJ1FF2dpUI_TA
Ternio’s Official Telegram - https://t.me/terniotoken
Note: Leading image of Ternio's company logo is from the above linked Telegram channel and used under fair use. No approval by or affiliation with Ternio beyond what has been stated is implied.