What Is Ontology (ONT)?

Ontology (ONT) is a multi-chain cryptocurrency platform that aims to develop a “distributed trust” network by providing the technological infrastructure needed to create a “trust ecosystem.”

The developers of Ontology intend to promote “trust cooperation” by allowing businesses and technology projects to build blockchain-based software solutions on the distributed trust platform.

First Chinese Blockchain Project to Join Decentralized Identity Foundation 

As mentioned on its official website, Ontology is notably the first Chinese blockchain-focused initiative that was listed as a member of the Decentralized Identity Foundation (DIF). As an organization responsible for developing various standards for the “decentralized ecosystem”, DIF also creates and manages digital identities that may be assigned to individuals, organizations, devices, and applications. 

In order to establish common standards for the nascent blockchain industry, Ontology’s management has joined various initiatives related to standardizing distributed ledger technology (DLT)-based solutions including the ISO/ TC 307 blockchain project.

“Decoupled” Architecture for Supporting Blockchain and Legacy IT Systems

According to its developers, the Ontology platform is based on multiple distributed ledgers that are designed to provide a “decoupled” architecture. This design approach allows the Ontology network to support several independent blockchains at its base or underlying layer. 

Ontology Supports Smart Contract-enabled Decentralized Applications 

Ontology’s unique framework has also been built to make it easier for traditional or legacy IT systems to integrate blockchain technology into their existing infrastructure. In a manner that’s similar to other DLT-enabled crypto networks, the Ontology platform supports smart contract functionality and allows developers to build decentralized applications (dApps).

Addressing Blockchain Scalability Issues

The Ontology network allows software architects to develop applications based on several different protocols and modules, which may be accessed at the application layer. As noted on its website, Ontology’s protocols have been developed to solve the scalability problems that plague major crypto platforms such as Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH).

Core Protocols for Data Exchange, Online ID Verification 

Ontology’s technical team has also created a number of different W3C (World Wide Web Consortium, a web-based open standards organization) compatible “core” protocols for enabling efficient data exchange, verifying online identities, and authorizing routine processes.

As mentioned on its website, the Ontology team has created various cryptographic signature protocols that are based on (and comply with) China’s “national cryptography standard”, ECC (Elliptic-Curve Cryptography), and the RSA algorithm.

Supporting Developers with “Wide Range of Technical Backgrounds” 

According to Ontology’s management, the distributed trust network’s creators are focused on supporting the “development and upkeep” of decentralized platforms and data systems. Meanwhile, Ontology’s partners can focus on improving their business operations, instead of concerning themselves with technical issues.

In order to accommodate software engineers with diverse technical backgrounds, Ontology’s developers have created many different application frameworks that allow greater flexibility when building applications. Ontology platform’s developer tools include various software development kits (SDKs), APIs, and multiple application modules.

According to a blog post, published by the Ontology team (in January 2019), the platform’s creators have developed various designs for launching security token offerings (STOs). Additionally, Ontology’s technical team is working on different approaches to implement sharding, a technique that splits a crypto network into subnetwords, called shards, for faster processing.

Ontology Team Offers Unique Developer Incentive Model

Ontology’s management has also introduced an incentive model which rewards developers for contributing to the platform by building decentralized applications. As explained by the Ontology

team, developers may be rewarded with 50% of all transaction fees (paid in ONG) that are associated with dApps they’ve created.

Notably, the creators of the “most popular” dApps will receive additional rewards. Currently, the two most popular (or widely-used) Ontology-based dApps include ONTLAND, a blockchain-powered multiplayer online “virtual world”, and “HyperDragons Go!”, an RPG game in which players must “train” their dragons.

Ontology Team Creates Standard for Security Token Offerings (STOs)

As explained, Ontology’s management has been working to develop standards for STOs. After performing extensive market research, the Ontology team has launched a new OEP-506 token standard proposal.

According to its Github page, the OEP proposal aims to standardize common interfaces for conducting STOs, and it also outlines procedures for complying with know-your-customer (KYC) requirements. 

As stated in its specification document, the OEP proposal considers security tokens to be “a subclass” of partially fungible tokens. The token standard features smart contracts and “related standard devices” on the Ontology network.

“Ensuring Decentralization”, Enhancing Security of Blockchains

As mentioned, Ontology’s developers have been working on sharding techniques as they claim it will “solve the challenges of blockchain scalability.” According to Ontology team’s blog post (published in December 2018), the platform’s approach to sharding aims to “ensure decentralization” while enhancing the security of blockchain-based applications.  

Ontology Platform Aims to Build Intuitive, Easy-to-Use Applications

Honglei Cong, a former Principal Software Engineer at Dell EMC, a Fortune 500 data storage technology firm, recently joined Ontology’s technical team as a senior developer. Cong noted that Ontology’s design goals include creating scalable and easy-to-use software.

He also mentioned that there are several standard developer tools the Ontology platform supports – including the Wasm (web assembly) platform and the Python Compiler.

“First Open Letter” to Ontology’s Technical Community

As noted in Ontology team’s “first open letter”, released on March 30, 2018, the distributed trust network would include a modular consensus “protocol set”, a “complete distributed ledger system”, and an implementation of a peer-to-peer (P2P) network protocol.

In addition to building a decentralized multi-chain platform, the Ontology team has taken measures to improve the security of its network. On January 4, 2019, Ontology’s management announced that it had partnered with TEEX, a decentralized computing network, in order to enhance on-chain security and privacy. 

Separating Application Code and Data from External Applications

The partnership between Ontology and TEEX will focus on creating secure client “private key solutions.” By using TEEX’s Trusted Execution Environment (TEE), which acts as “a black box” (located inside computer chips), the application code and its associated data will be separated from external software programs.

As mentioned in the announcement, Ontology’s public blockchain platform will implement a private smart contract execution environment by utilizing TEEX’s “Layer-2 privacy-preserving computation solution.” This type of protected environment will allow developers to write on-chain smart contracts that are secure and maintain privacy.

Ontology Is NEO’s Strategic Technology Partner

Notably, the Ontology platform was initially developed on the NEO blockchain network. When Ontology’s mainnet went live (last summer), Li Jun, the platform’s founder, had said that his firm was one of NEO’s strategic technology partners.

In a manner that’s similar to the NEO blockchain (which uses two native crypto tokens, NEO and GAS), the Ontology platform also uses a dual-token economy. Prior to the launch of Ontology’s mainnet, the platform only had one token, called ONT. 

Ontology Blockchain Is Powered By a Dual-Token Economy

Initially developed on NEO, ONT tokens were distributed to NEO investors through an airdrop in June 2018 (at the time of Ontology’s mainnet release on June 30, 2019). As the main crypto token of the distributed trust platform, ONT holders are able to stake their tokens in order to participate in Ontology’s governance-related matters.
ONT investors are also rewarded for staking as they periodically receive newly minted ONG tokens. ONG tokens may be used to power smart contracts on the Ontology network. As explained by its developers, each ONT has been programmed to generate new ONG tokens for the next 18 years.