How Ontology Is Bringin’ Privacy Back
Lately, crypto has kind of been in that awkward puberty stage. One minute it was the cool kid in town who everyone wanted to hang out with. The next, it found itself pegged as that shifty hacker-looking kid who no one was quite sure was entirely stable.
From rug pullers and low-level hackers to giant dodgy exchanges, unfortunately, there are those among us who would use crypto for evil. If crypto is to survive an admittedly blistering winter, it’s going to need to earn back the public’s trust.
As Li Jun, the founder of Ontology, puts it, “there is a significant appetite for blockchain solutions that safeguard user privacy in the midst of ongoing scamming, identity fraud, data leaks, and ransomware attacks.”
Yeah there is.
That’s why the Ontology team has been looking to offer better solutions.
What Is Ontology?
Ontology has been pioneering crypto privacy solutions since before they were cool – or desperately needed. Ontology is a decentralized, open-source blockchain platform with a core mission of bringing trust, privacy, and security to the world of Web3.
Not only does it present solutions for individual users, but also for large companies and other public organizations.
For obvious reasons, most companies would be a bit hesitant to post all their internal documents to a public ledger like Ethereum. While they may be secure, they are also… well, public.
Probably not the best choice for safeguarding sensitive insider information. That’s why Ontology came up with a more realistic approach.
How Is Ontology Different Than Other Blockchains?
Ontology has developed a platform that makes it possible for users to take advantage of both private and public blockchains. For instance, imagine you’re a mogul at a massive corporation.
While you might not want to share your finances with everyone, you do need to get them to the folks in the accounting department. Unfortunately, you’re on a business trip abroad and don’t feel comfortable sending the info over email.
By uploading your data to the Ontology blockchain, you can share it exclusively with the people you choose. While you’re at it, you could share a message with your customers or investors over a public blockchain, without having to switch platforms.
By allowing communication between public and private blockchains, Ontology can be used to do everything from verifying a new customer’s identity to sending company-wide information to specific recipients.
Realizing that not everyone is a blockchain rocket scientist, the Ontology team also made the smart move of designing the platform to be incredibly user-friendly. The hope is that even companies who aren’t super familiar with blockchain tech will be able to jump right in.
An Intro to ONTO Wallets
While Ontology brings plenty of business use cases to the table, it’s also got some great stuff in store for individual users. Among them is the ONTO wallet, a cross-chain Web3 application.
“ONTO Wallet allows users to manage their Web3 digital identity, data, and assets all in one place providing a gateway to Web3 that empowers users to operate in the new web in a secure way,” Li Jun says.
When you sign up for an ONTO wallet, you’ll not only have a place to store your tokens and NFTs, but also things like data. By storing your identification, for instance, you’ll be able to easily use your ONTO wallet to sign into hundreds of different dApps.
Complete with multi-chain integration, ONTO also lets you swap your tokens quickly and efficiently. Overall, it’s quite a handy one-stop shop for Web3 solutions.
What Is Wing Finance?
Li Jun and his team have also come up with a cool DeFi platform called Wing Finance. As the founder describes it, “Wing Finance is a credit-based, cross-chain decentralized lending platform, built on Ontology.”
Sounds good, but what does it do? Wing is in the digital asset lending business and is designed to support cross-chain interactions between lenders, borrowers, and guarantors.
In essence, the goal of the platform is to make borrowing and lending services accessible to more users. The platform uses a unique credit evaluation system that works sort of like a credit check, but for digital assets.
Instead of a credit score, you get an “OScore” based on factors like your holdings and any history you may have of managing digital assets. The whole set-up also has a unique collateral system that can factor in cryptos across different blockchains or digitize assets like NFTs.
Even if your traditional credit score isn’t quite as flattering as you’d like, Wing Finance makes it possible to enjoy a clean slate on the blockchain.
Let’s Talk Consensus
As you’re likely aware, consensus mechanisms are a massive part of what makes blockchains so secure. Popular options like Proof-of-Work and Proof-of-Stake mechanisms make it possible for a blockchain to verify the legitimacy of transactions without the need to rely on a third party.
Ontology uses not one but three different models that they’ve combined to form their own mechanism called VBFT. VBFT combines all the best features of Verifiable Random Function (VRF), Byzantine Fault Tolerant (BFT), and Proof-of-Stake (PoS) into one big blockchain-securing hurricane.
The Future of Ontology
While it may not be a household name just yet, Ontology got in on the ground floor of the impending Web3 revolution. The platform actually just celebrated its fifth anniversary and doesn’t appear in danger of slowing down any time soon.
When reflecting on what the next five years will bring, Li Jun said,
“Whether they be individuals, developers or enterprises, Ontology’s infrastructure provides users with trusted access to Web3. This allows users to secure their privacy and data as they move through the decentralized world. As Web3 and blockchain adoption becomes more ubiquitous, we are committed to continuing our vision of trusted, decentralized access to Web3, for all.”
A worthy vision indeed.
As Web3 grows out of its infancy, hopefully, innovations like Ontology will guide crypto through it’s awkward adolescence and into a less rocky future.
