Bringing Reputation On-Chain: Can Ethos Network Boost Trust and Credibility in Crypto?

In the Wild West of crypto, the set scams and fraud remain customary, one crew is making a wager on a fresh resolution: bringing reputation on-chain. Ethos Network, a platform designed to assign credibility and belief within the crypto home, is gaining traction as it tackles regarded as one of the most critical industry’s most chronic issues—execrable actors.

The brainchild of Trevor Thompson (aka Serpin Taxt) and Ben Walther, Ethos used to be born out of frustration with rampant scams plaguing the home.

“I frail to fabricate a great deal of trading in crypto, and I witnessed many of the crime, fraud, and scams that became more apparent in recent cycles,” Thompson urged Decrypt. “I felt inspired by the different to solve some of that.”

The root crystallized after Thompson’s expertise with Friend.tech, the since abandoned social platform the set customers aquire and sell “keys” tied to Twitter accounts. Whereas Friend.tech launched the theorem that of tying on-chain actions to social identity, it fell trying addressing belief and credibility.

An example of an Ethos profile and receive. Image: Ethos

“Friend.tech used to be by no system searching out for to solve reputation, but it absolutely felt esteem it used to be the first perception,” Thompson said. “What if we may per chance tie somebody’s on-chain actions to who they’re as an particular particular person, and doc that on-chain?”

Walther, Thompson’s co-founder and Ethos Labs CTO, has been combating fraud, scams, and cyberattacks since 2006 in his role as a security skilled. Thompson approached Walther alongside with his belief for Ethos, sparking a collaboration between the 2. Their friendship in the initiating shaped when Walther bought Thompson’s Friend.tech key and flipped it quickly thereafter for a 2x develop.

Since then, they raised a $1.75 million funding round led by 60 Web3 community angel investors at the side of 0xQuit, Dingaling, Sighduck, Dragos, 0xMakesy, and Zeneca.

From theory to actuality

Ethos, which launched in January, objectives to create a “proof of credibility” machine, straight away documenting belief via a vouching machine. Customers can vouch for others by staking money against their reputation. The stakes may per chance even be withdrawn at any time

The Ethos web situation locations it merely: “Make a contribution and blueprint by building your reputation, backing others or penalizing execrable actors. Employ the Ethos credibility receive to better perceive who that you will most definitely have the ability to belief and who to lend a hand some distance flung from.”

The more or less strategies seen on Ethos profiles. Image: Ethos

Ethos contributors are assigned “credibility rankings” consistent with how honest they’re, associated to credit rating rankings but serious about social standing. The receive is definite by the platform’s most engaged and revered people.

“Friend.tech’s bonding curve muddied the details about who trusts whom,” Thompson defined. “We wished to create a machine the set belief is straight away documented and economically accumulate, without the pointless monetary intention back.”

The platform has drawn comparisons because the Payment My Professors or Articulate for crypto. Thompson most incessantly agrees, but sees it as something more.

“Take into myth the manner you aquire products or settle medical doctors recently—opinions and reputation matter. In crypto, we’re all unprejudiced businesses working with one another, and belief is required. Having the ability to vouch if truth be told provides weight to it.”

One early criticism of Ethos is the aptitude for a “circle jerk” end, the set customers vouch for one another to inflate their credibility rankings. Thompson acknowledges this possibility, but argues that it’s half of the direction of.

“You need folks to vouch for one another—that’s the purpose. The goal is to raise the bar for reputation and separate credible folks from bots and scammers.”

He addressed criticism for the “(3,3)” mannequin, moreover referred to as “vouch for vouch,” in an X put up, writing that negative opinions and slashing mechanisms exist to punish execrable actors who strive and management the machine.

The slashing mechanism is electrified by proof-of-stake blockchain networks, permitting customers to propose slashing somebody’s credibility receive by staking their personal reputation. If the majority agrees, then the target loses credibility parts.

“It’s a manner to lend a hand folks accountable and make certain the machine remains excellent,” Thompson said.

Building for the lengthy bustle

Ethos is composed in its early phases, with around 1,000 customers and a crew of six builders. The platform is for the time being invite-easiest, a resolution the founders insist is intentional.

“We need to develop it at a sustainable price,” said Thompson. “If we factual commence it for all people, then all people may per chance presumably even be half of after which we may per chance now not lend a hand any of these folks—after which they factual may per chance now not participate within the extinguish. It happens loads in Web3 with hype cycles.”

Looking forward, the crew is exploring capabilities esteem opinions built with zero-data or ZK tech, which would enable customers to scoot away anonymous opinions whereas composed proving their credibility. “This may per chance assist folks half valid strategies without bother of backlash,” Thompson said.

The platform’s lengthy-timeframe vision extends beyond crypto, too. “Take into consideration a world the set reputation is transportable and verifiable across platforms—whether you’re hiring a freelance copywriter, or making a gaze-to-gaze transaction,” Thompson said. “That’s the lengthy bustle we’re building in direction of.”

As Ethos continues to develop, it faces the anxiousness of balancing openness with integrity. But for the crew, the mission is apparent: to create a machine the set reputation is transparent, verifiable, and on-chain. Here’s carried out via “backing reputation via monetary security, making reputation itself inherently treasured and able to be instrumented, measured, and rewarded.”

“The actuality is, folks aren’t obsessed with the implications of their actions yet,” Thompson said. “But over time, as more data is saved on-chain, the truth will prevail.”

Ethos customers are earning XP in direction of… something. Image: Ethos

When requested the million-dollar inquire of of whether or now not Ethos is planning on launching a token, Thompson answered ambiguously, but assured that they are working to reward customers in some manner.

“I will have the ability to relate you that our XP machine is designed to list us within the extinguish of how we may per chance reward folks beyond factual XP,” Thompson said. “It helps us perceive the largest incentive mechanisms. and make certain folks are following these incentive mechanisms, balancing these incentive mechanisms.”

Token or now not, in a home the set belief is mostly in instant supply, Ethos is making a wager that reputation—backed by blockchain—may per chance be the final forex.

Edited by Andrew Hayward