What is Ontology (ONT)?

Ontology is a high-performance public blockchain and platform for distributed cooperation. It specialises in decentralised identity and data management via a range of distributed ledgers and smart contract systems. Ontology enables a decentralised network architecture that solves key issues like identity security and data integrity.

ONT is a utility token that serves as the primary means of both storage and transfer of value on the Ontology network.

A brief history of Ontology (ONT)

Onchain, a Chinese company, launched Ontology in 2017 to reap the advantages of blockchain networks. Ontology is mainly concerned with improving interactions in blockchain systems.

Ontology Coin began its life as an NEP-5 token on the NEO blockchain. On 30 June 2018, the Ontology mainnet was launched, and the NEP-5 ONT was swapped for the native mainnet ONT.

Surprisingly, Ontology did not hold an initial coin offering (ICO), where it sells tokens to the public in order to raise funding for its project. Instead, it opted for a private sale, and the Ontology team airdropped (freely distributed) ONT to NEO holders and those who were signed up for its email list.

Ontology shifted its emphasis to delivering self-sovereign digital identity solutions (through its ONT ID application) and private data management, primarily in the Japanese, Korean, United States, and European markets. For example, Ontology collaborated with the South Korean-based Klaytn project, which is the public chain of Kakao. Ontology plans to expand its technology, product integration, and interactions with Klaytn, including data privacy and the ONT ID application, to allow more Korean people to join the Ontology ecosystem, and more projects and organisations to reach accessible markets.

Ontology claims to provide more flexibility for enterprises, enabling them to develop customised blockchains to meet their unique demands, with features like governance and better privacy, which many rival blockchains lack by design.

How Ontology (ONT) works

The Ontology team created its own consensus mechanism, dubbed Verifiable Byzantine Fault Tolerance (VBFT), which is the core consensus algorithm of the Ontology Consensus Engine (OCE); it is a hybrid algorithm that combines Proof of Stake (PoS), Verifiable Random Function (VRF), and the Byzantine Fault Tolerance algorithm (BFT). VBFT is suitable for both public and private blockchain applications.

ONT ID is a framework that links people, data, and services by using a decentralised identity protocol based on blockchain and cryptographic technology. ONT ID safeguards user privacy and data security, allowing for trustworthy collaboration. Users are not required to disclose all of their credentials when revealing their identity to third parties.

Ontology Trust Anchors, which offer credential verification services for ONT ID users in exchange for ONT tokens, provide the proof or verification. Unlike a signature, which can be falsified, this proof mechanism is secure and impenetrable due to highly sophisticated cryptographic protocols.

This is a significant development for apps and developers, which can utilise ONT ID to rapidly and securely authenticate new users in the digital era without having to deal with sensitive documents, such as passports.

In addition to ONT ID, the project also offers ONTO Wallet, a decentralised app (dapp) for identity and asset management. The wallet offers financial audit, decentralised identity, data security, on-chain reputation, cross-chain transactions, and seamless integration between web and mobile.

What is Ontology (ONT) used for?

Ontology uses a dual-token model (ONT and ONG). ONT is a coin and can be used for staking in consensus, whereas ONG is a gas token used for on-chain services. ONT releases ONG periodically.

The ONT utility token serves as the primary means of storage and transfer of value on the Ontology network. It also has delegated governance token capabilities: When ONT token holders delegate their stake to nodes, they allow the node operator to make proposals and vote on matters of governance on their behalf. The token can also be staked for ONG rewards, letting users contribute to the security and stability of the network.

Fees and transactions on the Ontology network are paid for by using the ONG token. Deploying smart contracts also uses ONG in the process. The project tries to keep the transaction costs predictable to maintain a friendly operating environment for users and developers.