Figment Networks launching Oasis validator
At Figment our mission is to support the wider adoption and long term success of Proof of Stake based blockchains. To do this we look to engage with projects we believe will have a valuable and long-term impact on the overall blockchain ecosystem. Today will see the launch of one of those high-profile networks’ public testnet: Oasis Network. Figment has been involved since the beginning of the validator testnet. During this process, we have been impressed by how the team has executed and involved the validator community in a way that accelerated network development.
Providing secure enterprise-grade validator infrastructure to token holders is just one of the ways we work to ensure network adoption and success. Like we have done for Cosmos, Terra, Tezos, and other networks, we also look to contribute software tools e.g. Hubble and active participation in the network community, including governance.
Let’s take a dive deeper into why we believe Oasis is one of the most exciting new stake based projects launching in 2020.
Overview
Oasis is the first blockchain platform to offer full-stack privacy, providing privacy-preservation at every layer of the protocol, from the application layer to the hardware layer. When complete, the confidentiality guarantees of the Oasis network will create a new paradigm in decentralized computing where user data can be accessed only by smart contracts. These guarantees are enforced by cryptographic and network protocols, ensuring that no one, including Oasis, can access, analyze or manipulate the data unless permitted by the smart contract. This will enable a new ecosystem of apps that can use data while still keeping it private and protected.
Tackling a vast and untapped market
Focusing on privacy at the protocol level could attract a new breed of developers looking to leverage smart contracts for private data transfers to unlock use cases such as private decentralized finance, data analytics, machine learning training, and blockchain-based supply chain tracking. If “data is the new oil”, Oasis might be well-positioned to build the required pipelines to exploit its full value in a privacy-preserving way. Great privacy solutions will be launching in the next 6 months, such as nuCypher, Keep and Enigma, but Oasis will be the first to bring the power of trustless privacy to the protocol level, betting on a Layer 1 solution to simplify developers’ tech stack.
Proven tech stack
The Oasis Network will run on the Tendermint PBFT consensus algorithm for its Proof-of-Stake (PoS) implementation and will allow Oasis token holders to stake with their chosen node operators. It’s natural for us to support networks that are offshoots from existing blockchain tech stacks, like Tendermint. We currently support four Tendermint projects with Hubble, including testnet support for Kava and mainnet support upon launch. We find it valuable if a project is using a tech stack that has proven to be robust, allowing the market to adopt it more quickly.
Slowly decentralizing governance
While Oasis will not have on-chain governance at launch, the team plans to slowly decentralize its decision power and allow token holders to get involved. We value on-chain governance, as it allows us to give a voice to our delegators, play a role in the decentralization of the network and help it evolve faster through coordinated proposals.
The right team to execute
Finally, Oasis is led by a team with a proven capacity to innovate at a core computer science level. Dawn Song, CEO, and co-founder of Oasis Labs and a professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at the University of California at Berkeley is an accomplished entrepreneur and a globally respected researcher. She is ranked the most cited scholar in computer security (AMiner Award). She is a serial entrepreneur, including Ensighta Security (acquired by FireEye Inc.) and Menlo Security. As validators, we have already been feeling her impact on the validators industry best practices and we are confident that with the funding they received from some of the top investors in the space, they have the right tools to bring Oasis’ vision to fruition.
As such, Oasis is one of the many networks we believe can bring real adoption to the industry via a highly scalable solution built with a privacy-first approach. We look forward to supporting the network throughout its public testnet and become a genesis validator at mainnet launch in early 2020.
About Figment
Based in Canada, serving token holders worldwide and venture-funded, Figment Networks is the country’s largest blockchain infrastructure and staking provider. Figment is trusted by over 400 customers and partners worldwide with more than 35 million tokens under management across 12 PoS networks.
At Figment our mission is to support the wider adoption and long term success of stake-based networks. This is Figment’s unique approach: providing not just enterprise-grade delegation services to token holders but also valuable open-source software tools (e.g. Hubble), compliance & reporting solutions, active community participation & governance leadership.
