Pyth Network Describes Itself As:

The Pyth Network (PYTH) is an oracle solution that aims to provide real-time, high-frequency financial market data directly on-chain. Oracles enable blockchain applications to intake and process real-world data, helping to bridge the gap between traditional financial markets and Web3. Pyth sources data from approximately 90 first-party data providers, including some of the world's largest exchanges and market makers, and offers real-time price feeds for cryptocurrencies, equities, foreign exchange pairs, ETFs, and commodities across over 40 blockchain networks. 

The Pyth Network seeks to address a perceived gap in today’s blockchain oracle solutions, specifically:

• Speed: on-chaining pricing lagging behind real-world markets can lead to inaccuracies and open attack vectors.
• Coverage/Availability: developers should be able to access relevant price feeds on their network of choice.
• Sourcing/Quality: data source opacity can negatively impact trust and verifiability. Developers must be able to verify inputs from oracle data sources and understand the reputations of said providers. 

Pyth Network differs from other leading oracle solutions in that it is a publisher oracle network. This means that the nodes within the network both own and publish data directly on-chain. This contrasts with reporter oracle networks, where nodes purchase data from other sources (first-party or other middlemen), and then publish to the network. Pyth Network also introduces a novel concept called the Pull Oracle, a more gas efficient design wherein users request price updates when needed. 

The PYTH token serves a number of functions within the ecosystem, including:

• Governance: Token holders use PYTH for voting on key protocol elements, including upgrades, policy changes, and the introduction of new features.
• Data Provider Incentives: PYTH rewards publishers for contributing high-quality, timely data, which is crucial for maintaining the network's data integrity and reliability.
• Staking and Delegation: Token holders can stake PYTH to support the network's security and economic model or delegate tokens to data providers to influence consensus and earn data fees.
• Data Consumption Fees: Access to premium data feeds and specialized services within the network may require PYTH, fostering a sustainable economic model within the ecosystem.

Pyth Network started as a collaboration between several individual contributors who later formed the Pyth Data Association. Early contributors to the network include the likes of Pyth Data Association Jump Trading Group, Blockdaemon and LMAX Group. The Pyth Network launched on the Solana network in 2021. 

Risks of PYTH

Like an investment in other crypto assets, there are some general risks to investing in PYTH. These include:  (i) volatility risk and liquidity risk, (ii) short history risk, (iii) demand risk, (iv) forking risk, (v) code defects, (vi) regulatory risk, (vii) electronic trading risk, and (viii) cyber security risk. For additional information of these and other general risks associated with crypto assets and Uphold’s platform, please refer to the Risks Specific to Holding Digital Assets statement.

We emphasize that this Crypto Asset Statement is not an exhaustive description or summary of all risks associated with PYTH. Investors should conduct their own research and perform their own assessment before trading any crypto asset to determine the appropriate level of risk for their personal circumstances.

The PYTH community and Pyth Network founding team, core developers, and Jump Trading Group are not under any legal or regulatory obligation to disclose material information to the public regarding its activities. Holders of PYTH have no recourse to the Pyth Network team, developers, or Uphold if PYTH declines in value for any reason.

Changes to applicable law may adversely affect the use, transfer, exchange, or value of any of your crypto assets, and such changes may be sudden and without notice.

Uphold’s Evaluation Process

Prior to listing PYTH on the Uphold Platform, Uphold performed due diligence on PYTH and determined that PYTH is unlikely to be a security or derivative under relevant securities legislation. Uphold’s analysis including reviewing publicly available information on the following: 

• The creation, governance, usage, and design of PYTH, including ensuring the source code being open-source, audited and peer reviewed, security, and roadmap for growth in the developer community. 
• The supply, demand, maturity, utility, and liquidity of PYTH.
• Marketing materials put forward by the PYTH social team including, Twitter, Medium blog, LinkedIn posts, Discord and Telegram channels.
• Material technical risks associated with PYTH, including any code defects, security breaches and other threats concerning PYTH and its supporting blockchain (such as the susceptibility to hacking and impact of forking), or the practices and protocols that apply to them.
• Legal and regulatory risks associated with PYTH, including any pending, potential, or prior civil, regulatory, criminal, or enforcement action relating to the issuance, distribution, or use of PYTH. 

General

Uphold has prepared this Crypto Asset Statement based on publicly available information. Although Uphold has taken steps to obtain information from apparently reliable sources, information contained in this Crypto Asset Statement may be inaccurate, incomplete or out-of-date. This overview is a starting point for you to perform your own research prior to investing in a crypto asset.

Uphold users should read the Risks Specific To Holding Digital Assets statement for additional discussion of general risks associated with crypto assets made available through the Uphold platform.  

Canadian residents, please note that Uphold has filed an application for registration in certain Canadian jurisdictions but has not yet obtained registration. Until such time as Uphold obtains registration, Uphold has agreed to abide by the terms of an undertaking available at the following link. Please be aware that statutory rights of action for damages or rescission in section 130.1 of the Securities Act (Ontario) and, if applicable, similar statutory rights under securities legislation in the other provinces and territories of Canada do not apply in respect of this Crypto Asset Statement or the Uphold Platform Risk Statement.

Last updated on January 15, 2024.