Ontology

What is Ontology (ONT)?

Ontology attempts to bring trust, privacy, and security to Web3 through decentralized identity and data solutions.

The project brings together a series of blockchain-based protocols and products to lay out the infrastructure for Web3 and also has its own high-speed, low-cost public blockchain. This chain gives users and enterprises the flexibility to build solutions that fit their needs while also ensuring regulatory compliance.

Ontology is also focused on cross-chain compatibility and blockchain interoperability via the Ontology Multi-Virtual Machine. Ethereum compatibility, the natural first step in such an endeavor, is already assured thanks to Ontology’s EVM (Ethereum Virtual Machine).

With Ontology, users can keep their identity and data protected through encryption. This gives them total control over who can access, see, and use their online data and identity.

When was Ontology Launched?

Ontology came to life in late 2017 and, unlike many blockchain projects of its vintage, chose to eschew the popular ICO (Initial Coin Offering) model. Instead, the project team elected to carry out community distributions and airdrops of the ONT coin.

For this reason, Ontology was able to establish itself as a more regulator-friendly project since ICOs were under the microscope, thanks to their similarities to a security offering.

The airdrops also proved lucrative since community members who subscribed to the project newsletter received an airdrop of 1,000 ONT. Once listed on popular exchange platforms, the ONT coin reached a value of up to $10.

A little more than six months after launch, in June 2018, Ontology launched the mainnet of its blockchain platform.

Who are the Founders of Ontology?

Ontology was founded by Li Jun, a blockchain solutions architect with 17 years of experience in IT and Fintech. Li leads the project and manages the development of the ecosystem and the people that drive its progress.

How Does Ontology Work?

Ontology’s focus lies in two major areas, decentralized identity and distributed data. These are formally known as ONT ID, the decentralized identity framework, and DDXF, the distributed data exchange framework.

ONT ID provides a self-sovereign system of data authorization and ownership confirmation, which hands true control to users. The processes of ID generation, storage, update, and other critical components are fully automated and decentralized in nature.

Any entity that is a part of the network can make and verify claims regarding data ownership, access rights, and validation. This feature makes ONT ID a good choice for building account mechanisms with a high degree of disintermediation.

The privacy protection of verifiable claims is handled by using zero-knowledge proofs, and through ONT ID, the project can also incorporate multi-source authentication.

Meanwhile, DDXF defines an infrastructure framework and guidelines to support comprehensive data processing and management. It achieves a layered, data-centric paradigm and focuses on data interoperability, classification, format, and security issues affecting different stakeholders.

What Makes Ontology Unique?

In addition to its focus on identity and data, Ontology also stands for blockchain interoperability. This is encapsulated by Ontology Smart Contracts, which support dynamic features including high scalability and performance and multilingual contracts that operate cross-chain and across different virtual machines.

Currently, Ontology Smart Contracts support Python, C#, and Rust, along with EVM contracts written in Solidity. However, Java, C++, Go, and JavaScript are all due to receive support in the future.

Ontology’s Multi-Virtual Machine, meanwhile, supports NeoVM and the Webassembly framework (WASM) in addition to the Ethereum Virtual Machine.

How is the Ontology Network Secured?

Ontology’s blockchain is secured by a verifiable Byzantine Fault Tolerance (VBFT) core consensus algorithm within the Ontology Consensus Engine.

This algorithm is a hybrid of proof-of-stake (PoS), verifiable random function (VRF), and Byzantine Fault Tolerance (BFT). According to Ontology, VBFT can be considered an improvement on traditional BFT in terms of its verifiable randomness.

Ontology’s Consensus Network is made up of consensus nodes that carry out the consensus process with respect to events within the network. This includes block generation, the maintenance of ledger consistency, and sending the blocks that pass the consensus process to the synchronization node network.

In VBFT, proposal nodes are selected from the consensus network based on VRF. A block is proposed by each of these. Then, verification nodes are chosen in the same way, and these nodes collect proposed blocks, verify them, and vote for the block with the highest priority.

Then, confirmation nodes are selected, again based on VRF. These carry out statistical verification for the voting carried out by the verification nodes and confirm the final consensus result.

All of the nodes in the consensus then acknowledge this result. Their acknowledgment marks the end of one round of consensus and the beginning of the next.

What is the Use of ONT?

ONT is the native cryptocurrency token of the Ontology network and can be used as a medium of exchange within the network’s ecosystem. It is also used in network consensus via staking. Notably, ONT is indivisible, with the smallest unit of the token being limited to unity.

ONG is the second cryptocurrency token in the network, serving as gas to perform various operations on the blockchain. ONG is divisible and precise, up to 18 decimals.

How Much ONT is In Circulation?

Ontology boasts a 1 billion ONT supply, of which over 875 million ONT is already in circulation.

15% of the total ONT supply was allocated to the core team at launch, while 10% went to the NEO council. 28% of the supply was given to institutional partners, 10% to the technical community, and 25% was reserved for the development of the ecosystem.

Most of these tokens were subject to a variety of unlocking periods that culminated at the end of October 2020.

How Do You Buy ONT?

You can buy ONT on various exchange platforms using a wide array of cryptocurrencies. Depending on your exchange of choice, you may also be able to buy ONT tokens using fiat currency.

How Do You Store ONT?

You can store ONT and ONG tokens using one of Ontology’s three digital wallets. These include Cyano, a Chrome plugin wallet, ONTO, a mobile app, and OWallet, a desktop wallet.

It’s also possible to store ONT on your cryptocurrency exchange account. However, an exchange account is custodial, and, among other things, you can’t stake ONT from a custodial storage account.

Is ONT a Good Investment?

Ontology is a tried and tested project focusing on important but often under-appreciated solutions, including decentralized identity. In a world where individuals’ identities are all too easy to reach for malicious actors, the importance of the solutions Ontology provides should be all too clear.