What is Ontology?
Ontology is a relatively new public blockchain designed to allow companies with little to no knowledge on cryptocurrencies to integrate blockchain technology in their business. The Ontology network allows users to customize public blockchains for different types of apps and gain the most out of blockchain technology. Supporting decentralized apps positions the Ontology platform as a direct competitor of Ethereum. The Ontology platform features two coins – the Ontology coin known as ONT and the Ontology Gas token known as ONG. The Ontology Gas token was released in 2018 with the launch of the Ontology MainNet and it serves as a form of compensation for users who contribute to the platform. You can read more about ONG in the sections below. Interested in buying or selling Ontology? Get started right now!
Table of Contents
- The History of Ontology
- The Technical Specifications of Ontology
- The Price of Ontology
- Unique Aspects of Ontology
- Why Use Ontology?
- Resources of Ontology
The History of Ontology
The Ontology platform was created back in 2017 by a Chinese company called OnChain. The platform was founded by the OnChain team with experts Erik Zhang, Jun Li and Da HongFei heading the project. The company OnChain is also known as the founder of the NEO blockchain.
Working with the Government
The platform was built with the intention to allow businesses to install their blockchain technology withoug making drastic changes to their internal systems. The founders wanted to simplify the process of integrating blockchain technologies and make the use of blockchain possible for everyone.
The Idea Behind Ontology
The platform was built with the intention to allow businesses to install their blockchain technology withoug making drastic changes to their internal systems. The founders wanted to simplify the process of integrating blockchain technologies and make the use of blockchain possible for everyone.
No ICO
An ICO or ICOs are the most common method of collecting funds for new blockchain projects such as Ontology. However, no ICO was held for this platform. Instead, the developers gave ONT coins for free (which is called “airdropping” in the crypto community) to anyone who subscribed to their email newsletter list.
Partnership with NEO
Since the same company that founded Ontology also founded the NEO blockchain, they decided it would be smart to connect the two. They did so by using the NEO community to help boost Ontology and raise its popularity. Thus, they gave away free ONT coins to all NEO holders at the time of release.
The Main Coin
Since Ontology is a dual-token platform, its main coin is the Ontology Token or ONT for short. The ONT officially went on sale on local markets in March of 2018 and its supply won’t grow over 1 billion coins. The reason behind the 1 billion cap is not clear. However, it is believed that ONT is basically invented for private needs and ONT & NEO are meant to work together as part of the common tech stack. Besides, there are a bunch locked up for the foundation, developers and investment groups. At the time of release, its price was a little over 2.5$. The value of ONT has grown since its initial release thanks to Ontology’s partnership with the much more popular NEO blockchain.
Specifications of Ontology
| Ticker Symbol | ONT |
| Founder(s) | Jun LI |
| Date of Release | 27 November 2017 |
| Consensus mechanism | Proof of Stake |
| Hashing Algorithm | Variable Byzantine Fault Tolerance |
| Maximum supply | 1000000000 |
| Average Block Time | 15 seconds |
| Mining / Staking reward | 3% yearly |
| Average blocksize | 1.4 Kb |
| Next Block Halving | n/a |
| Smart Contracts | Yes |
The Price of Ontology
Unique Aspects of Ontology
After the Ontology MainNet launched, a new type of coin was introduced to the network. This was the Ontology Gas token (ONG) which is unique to the Ontology blockchain. ONG was created as a reward for users who contribute to the platform’s operation. By contributing to the platform and the creation of new blockchains, users can earn transaction fees in form of ONG. This system encourages users to remain active within the network.
The Functionality of the Platform
One of the reasons why the platform is becoming widely accepted is the fact that it allows businesses to use both private and public blockchains. Since it does not operate as a single blockchain, the Ontology network allows users to control how and to whom they share data via blockchain. This is one of the main reasons why ONT is so attractive for business because it allows separate chains and thus has multiple purposes.
Ontology As a Trustless Environment
Another special feature of the Ontology platform is the fact that it uses a unique consensus mechanism known as VBFT. Most simply put, a consensus mechanism is the way blockchains confirm and verify transactions without a third party, thus becoming trustless environments. The VBFT mechanism is a combination of three different consensus models including the Proof-of-Stake consensus (PoS), the Byzantine Fault Tolerant (BFT), and the Verifiable Random Function (VRF). Because of this feature, the developers of Ontology claim that the platform will be able to execute thousands of transactions per second as the VBFT mechanism allows cheaper and faster transactions.
Why Use Ontology?
The Ontology network has plenty of potential because it is easy to implement without the change of internal systems. This makes it suitable for all business types and industries. It is not only used for financial transactions but for data transactions as well. Most importantly, Ontology allows for quicker, more secure, and much cheaper transactions.
Supported by the NEO Blockchain
Since the Ontology network is supported by OnChain’s NEO blockchain, it has a significant advantage over other similar projects. Thanks to the NEO blockchain partnership, the Ontology platform also supports decentralized applications and offers smart contract features. Furthermore, the Ontology team worked closely with the Chinese government to ensure that this blockchain platform meets all security standards and requirements.
The Benefits of Ontology
Ontology allows users to perform data and money transactions without needing a third party. All of its transactions are secured through the unique VBFT consensus mechanism. Besides its limitless potential, one of the greatest benefits of the Ontology platform is the support by a team of professionals standing behind the project. Ontology was built by trustworthy experts from OnChain who are also responsible for the massive success of the NEO blockchain.