Oasis Network

What is Oasis Network (ROSE)?

The Oasis Network is a scalable, privacy-enabled blockchain targeting the realms of open finance, Web3, and the data economy.

According to the Oasis team, the platform has been designed for the next generation of blockchain. It is meant for open finance and responsible data usage and has already been embraced by major enterprises.

When Was Oasis Network Launched?

Oasis Network was launched in 2020, with its whitepaper published on June 23rd, following the team’s formation in 2018.

The ROSE whitepaper detailed the workings of the already running Oasis Blockchain Platform, along with its principles of modular architecture, a simple consensus layer, and independent ParaTimes.

The Oasis Network is backed by investors, including Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), Accel, Pantera, and Polychain Capital. Between 2018 and 2020, Oasis raised over $45 million in funding.

Other Oasis Network investors include Binance Labs, Huobi Capital, Salesforce Ventures, and Winklevoss Capital.

23% of the total ROSE token supply was acquired by investors by the time Oasis Network launched its mainnet.

Who are the Founders of Oasis Network?

The Oasis Network was founded by Dawn Song, a professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at the University of California, Berkeley.

Song is noted for her work researching and building security and privacy technologies, specifically in the areas of software, networking, distributed systems, and machine learning.

She is ranked as the most cited scholar in computer security and is a serial entrepreneur, having also founded Ensighta Security and Menlo Security.

The founder of Oasis Network has been recognized for her research with various awards, including the MacArthur, Guggenheim, and Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellowships.

How Does Oasis Network Work?

The Oasis Network is a privacy-focused and scalable modular network that is also highly interoperable with other blockchain protocols.

It was developed using the Cosmos SDK, which means that it can communicate with all other blockchains in the Cosmos ecosystem via IBC (Inter-Blockchain Communication).

Oasis is also compatible with the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM), which offers developers the opportunity to port smart contracts and decentralized applications (dApps) from ETH to ROSE if they so desire.

In terms of architecture, the Oasis Network separates consensus and smart contract execution into two different layers. Consensus is managed on the consensus layer, and execution is handled by ParaTime or parallel runtime layers.

The Oasis Protocol allows for multiple ParaTimes, each configured for its own utility. Thanks to this mechanism, transactions of different complexity can all be processed at the same time while sharing consensus from the consensus layer.

Node operators contribute nodes to an open or closed compute committee in order to run ParaTimes in exchange for rewards. Verification of ParaTime execution is managed by a technique called discrepancy detection, which, according to Oasis, is more efficient than sharding or parachain models.

ParaTimes can be operated by anyone and can have their own reward systems, requirements, and structures. Furthermore, node operators can participate in any number of ParaTimes.

ParaTimes can be confidential or non-confidential, which is where Oasis’ privacy comes in. These parallel runtime layers can also be configured for different purposes and run different virtual machines.

What Makes Oasis Network Unique?

One of the main things the Oasis Network is known for is privacy, and while the concept of a confidential ParaTime is simple enough, the technology goes deeper.

In these confidential ParaTimes, nodes have to use a specific, secure technology called a Trusted Execution Environment (TEE).

Encrypted data is sent into the TEE along with the relevant smart contract, whereupon the data is decrypted, processed by the smart contract, then encrypted again before it exits the TEE.

Thanks to this mechanism, neither node operators nor application developers are able to view the data in question.

Data, in fact, is one of Oasis Network’s fundamental pillars beyond just privacy. The Parcel ParaTime stores, governs, and computes confidential data. Using Parcel, currently a permissioned ParaTime, developers can store, govern, and compute data privately.

Thanks to Parcel, Oasis can tokenize this data into an NFT-like data-backed token (DBT). Data providers on Oasis can utilize this tokenized data to earn rewards since consumers are willing to pay for processed data.

The Oasis team envisions this data tokenization being used for things like credit scoring and monetization of personal data.

It ought to come as no surprise that enterprise clients have already shown interest in Parcel. Binance, Genetica, and BMW are confirmed users of Parcel ParaTime.

Notably, Oasis has also partnered with Meta (formerly known as Facebook), although the stated aim of the partnership is to assess fairness in Meta’s products.

How is the Oasis Network Network Secured?

The Oasis Network is secured by its consensus layer. This effective base layer of the Oasis architecture is modular and also agnostic in the sense that it can be changed to another consensus mechanism in the future.

However, it currently runs a modified version of Tendermint Core, a Byzantine Fault Tolerant (BFT) engine popularized by Cosmos. Tendermint Core uses proof-of-stake (PoS) consensus, where validators are randomly selected to form committees that maintain the public ledger.

Currently, the validator set consists of 120 nodes. Each of these validators stakes a minimum of 100 ROSE tokens and is rewarded for good performance with more ROSE. To be eligible for this reward, a node has to sign at least 75% of blocks in a given epoch.

Slashing, or the confiscation of ROSE tokens for misbehavior, is also present on Oasis. However, this penalty is only triggered in the case of double-signing. Along with the slashing of staked ROSE tokens, the node is also frozen.

Oasis modifies Tendermint Core by tasking nodes with providing a minimal set of services. This specialization and simplification of a node’s tasks aim to reduce system complexity and the risk of computational errors.

What is the Use of ROSE?

ROSE, the native token of the Oasis Network, is used for staking, delegation, and fees on the network.

The consensus layer requires validators to stake ROSE tokens as bonds, and holders can delegate ROSE to validators of their choice in order to earn a part of the inflation. Smart contract calls and transactions are also powered by fees paid in ROSE.

Who Controls Oasis Network?

There are two key organizations behind the Oasis Network, Oasis Labs and the Oasis Foundation.

Oasis Labs is the firm behind the development of the Oasis Network and was founded by Dawn Song in 2018. Now, the Oasis Labs team is considered an active member of the Oasis ecosystem and retains ownership of Parcel.

The Oasis Foundation, meanwhile, was created with the purpose of coordinating and fostering a global community around the Oasis ecosystem.

One of its most notable achievements in this regard is the Oasis University Program, which links blockchain clubs at 25 global universities. These include Blockchain at Berkeley, the Cambridge Blockchain Society, the Oxford Blockchain Society, and the UTS Fintech Society, among others.

How Much ROSE is In Circulation?

The ROSE token has a fixed supply of 10 billion ROSE, which was in circulation at the time of the mainnet launch in 2020. Currently, just over 5 billion ROSE tokens are in circulation.

In addition to the 23% of the supply sold to backers and Venture Capital firms, core contributors received 20% at the network launch. The Oasis Foundation was endowed with 10% of the 10 billion supply, and 18.5% was reserved for grants and funding programs.

A total of 2.35 billion ROSE was earmarked for rewarding stakers and delegators for four years following the launch. Investor and team tokens are also set to be fully unlocked at the four-year mark in 2024.

How Do You Buy ROSE?

The Oasis Network has garnered considerable interest from crypto investors, and this is reflected in listings across a wide variety of exchanges.

You can buy ROSE on almost any major exchange platform, with trading pairs in fiat currencies as well as stablecoins and other cryptocurrencies like ETH and BTC.

Is It Possible to Buy ROSE Instantly?

You can buy ROSE and most other cryptocurrencies instantly when you use a crypto exchange. However, these tokens aren’t truly yours until you withdraw them into your own wallet.

This withdrawal process, however, may not be instant. Some exchanges need to run KYC (Know Your Customer) and AML (Anti-Money Laundering) procedures before they are happy to release your ROSE tokens to you on-chain.

How Do You Store ROSE?

Oasis has its own native wallet solutions, the Oasis Web Wallet and the Oasis Browser Extension.

Both of these wallets allow easy connection to the Oasis Network and feature ROSE staking. They are also compatible with the Ledger hardware wallet if you want the added security of cold storage.

Supported third-party wallets and custodial options for ROSE storage are Bitpie, Anchorage, Finoa, Rockx, and Zondax.

Oasis Network Energy Consumption

Oasis Network is a proof-of-stake blockchain platform since it uses the Tendermint Core consensus engine. By definition, PoS is very energy efficient since it revolves around economic incentives rather than raw computing power.

The Oasis Network also has a 120-strong validator set. Each of these validators only needs to run a limited number of machines, which means Oasis can attain scalability and resilience with very little energy investment.

Is ROSE a Good Investment?

The ROSE token has clear utility across the Oasis ecosystem, and if more and more ParaTimes come into play, then demand for ROSE can only increase.

Like many utility tokens on layer 1 blockchains, the ROSE token’s quality in terms of investment will likely depend on adoption. Signs so far, however, are positive, with Oasis already building ties with major corporate clients.

However, the ROSE token’s distribution needs to be taken into account. No tokens were sold to retail investors, but the team and institutional investors alone received almost half the total supply.

While some of the steeper ROSE unlocks have already been cleared, it isn’t until 2024 that team and investor tokens fully unlock. This has the potential to impart downward pressure on ROSE, although it does represent a possible tightening of supply after that date.