This month’s update covers the following topics:
- OpenST Protocol v0.9.3 & v0.9.4 developments
- Middleware updates: API update & Javascript SDK
- SaaS update: OST Wallet v0
OST KIT⍺ Phase II: Halfway Updates
Coming up next: OST KIT⍺ Phase III With OST Wallet API
Please note: As always, all dates provided are directional and subject to change based on business requirements and macroeconomic conditions. While we intend to provide the community with detailed and highly transparent updates, information on some projects may be withheld due to confidentiality agreements or competitive market dynamics.
Welcome Kevin, Paul, Paruyr, and Sarvesh!
Team OST is now 50 people strong across three continents! Our New York office is ramping up its operations with the additions of Kevin Parulekar as our Business Development Director and Paul Kuveke as our new Blockchain Strategy Consultant.
We are also thrilled to welcome two new faces to our Blockchain Engineering team: Paruyr Gevorgyan joined the Berlin office as Senior Blockchain Engineer, and Sarvesh Jain started as a Blockchain Engineer in Pune, India.
We’re always on the lookout for new talent: Visit our Careers Page to learn more.
OST Product Development
This month we have a number of updates to share across all three layers of the OST technology stack:
- The OpenST protocol, which allows for the staking of $OST on Ethereum against minting Branded Tokens (e.g. any company’s brand, like “Unsplash Token”) on open, scalable, cryptographically auditable utility blockchains. Below we describe work on OpenST 0.9.3 and 0.9.4 including the first mention of OpenST Mosaic, our spec to scale Ethereum to internet grade apps and websites.
- Middleware, namely engines, APIs and SDKs that enable projects to build on OpenST and to connect their businesses and apps to the OST platform. In May we introduce OST API 1.0 which dozens of projects will start building on immediately.
- Software-as-a-Service tools, that enable businesses to manage their OST-powered blockchain tokenization implementations. Below we describe work begun on the OST universal wallet.
OpenST Protocol v0.9.3, v0.9.4, and beyond
In last month’s update we shared the release of OpenST v0.9.2. Today we’ve prepared a glimpse into the work being done presently on OpenST v0.9.3 which will lay the foundation for significant technological advancements in OpenST v0.9.4 and beyond.
In OpenST 0.9.3 our teams are working on internal proofs-of-concept [PoC’s] on the technological advancements that will be introduced beginning in OpenST 0.9.4. Below we’ll first introduce what’s coming in OpenST 0.9.4 and then circle back to describe the internal PoC’s.
OpenST 0.9.4 will begin work in earnest on two major technological advancements to the OpenST Protocol:
- First, with OpenST v0.9.4 we are excited to kickstart the development of OpenST Mosaic.
OpenST Mosaic is an open, Proof-of-Stake economic finality incentive system that rewards a decentralized network of sealers with transaction fees (in $OST tokens) for their securing Branded Token transfers and transactions on the OpenST utility chains. (Sealing represents the consensus algorithm for a blockchain).
To recap, OpenST allows for minting branded tokens on Utility Blockchains backed with value staked on Ethereum. The open validator set of OpenST Mosaic will secure the token transactions on the utility chains by providing economic finality for them on Ethereum, which is what is required to redeem a branded token and unstake the equivalent amount of $OST.
OpenST Mosaic is a cornerstone technology for OpenST and contributes back to the Ethereum ecosystem with a new tool to scale and compute more efficiently on Ethereum mainnet.
OpenST Mosaic will be first implemented in OpenST. We look forward to sharing the OpenST Mosaic specifications with the Ethereum development community and getting early feedback.
2. Second, OpenST 0.9.4 introduces a number of features designed to enable the “simple” aspects of OST.
OST and OpenST stand for “Open Simple Token”: simple for developers to integrate tokens into their applications and simple for end-users to adopt cryptocurrency at scale.
Improving user experience is crucial to support mass-adoption of cryptocurrency. To handle key management for users and for application developers cleanly, with OpenST 0.9.4 we introduce token holder, smart contracts for end-users. Branded tokens will be minted into and owned by each end-user’s’s token holder contract. Each end user is the owner of the contract, and as such the owner of her branded tokens.
As a result end-users will be able to manage all their branded tokens and $OST from the forthcoming OST Wallet and can authorize and revoke application sessions from her wallet, and her experience within the application is securely managed by her token holder smart contract.
OpenST 0.9.3, which is now underway, involves 3 internal PoC’s that will inform and enable OpenST 0.9.4 and beyond.
- The first PoC is called “GAME” (for the OpenST Mosaic incentives game theory), and forms the foundation for OpenST Mosaic to interact with OpenST.
- The second PoC, “PROOF” aims to validate Ethereum’s Patricia tree proofs in the smart contracts, which is a technical part that goes into completing OpenST protocol.
- The third PoC, “GATEWAY” prepares the OpenST implementation for protocol upgrade capability in OpenST 0.9.4 by further decentralizing staking and minting capabilities.
The diagram below represents the work being done in OpenST Protocol 0.9.3. It is also viewable and downloadable on GitHub
Middleware Updates
OST API v1.0
As announced last week, we will be launching our updated APIs on Thursday 17 May, 1:00pm UTC. Many of the updates address feedback from our Alpha Phase I and Phase II participants including:
- Execute transactions with arbitrary value. The current version of the API enables only fixed token transfers per event in your app, e.g. each upvote transfers 5 tokens. API v 1.0 enables you to define flexible and varying token transfer amounts for each discrete event.
- Deploy smart contracts on the OST utility chain. We’ve added the Transfer API which allows you to purchase OST PRIME as “gas” to support creating smart contracts on the OST utility chain.
- Improve API logic such as filtering for both individual and lists of users, standardizing error messages, and revising our API code base to be simpler to use overall.
We added new updates to address these enhancements as well as added new features to our overall API toolkit. We will continue to add to our developer API toolkit as we move towards Alpha Phase III.
Javascript SDK
As a continuation of the new API features we are launching in conjunction with OST KIT Alpha Phase II, we are excited to announce that our official Javascript SDK is now live. This was another request from the OST community and we are thrilled to share this release with our partners and developers in Alpha Phase II. The Javascript SDK will sit alongside our Ruby SDK.
As a part of this release, we are sharing two main components:
- The Javascript SDK
- A quickstart guide to our Javascript SDK
Our JavaScript SDK is a JavaScript node module that wraps around the OST developer API. Our SDK can be accessed through node.js. You can find the full documentation for the SDK on our GitHub page: https://goo.gl/o5Zpzn
As a companion to the full documentation on our SDK, we’ve created a quick start guide to get you up and running on the APIs as quick as possible. The documentation provides a step by step guide for you to access the SDK as well as key examples for features and transactions you can program using the SDK. You can access the Quickstart Guide through our developer resource page: https://goo.gl/NcR8tF
Many thanks again to our community for the feedback on new features for OST KIT. We look forward to seeing implementation with our new SDK and more suggestions to come.
OST KIT SaaS Updates
As a part of Alpha Phase III, we are now working on OST Wallet, a utility providing end-users of Branded Tokens with a clear overview of all their branded tokens acquired and used. Companies building on OST will be able to easily skin the OST wallet and integrate it into their apps and websites.
Our team is currently working on the finalization of all mock-ups to design a smooth user experience. The OST Wallet API will also be released as a part of the OST KIT⍺ Phase III program so that all Phase III teams can make use of it.
Should you have any thoughts or suggestions on the OST Wallet, feel free to join the conversation on our forums or on Gitter!
OST KIT⍺ Phase II: Halfway Updates
While we’ve been building across three layers of the OST technology stack, we have also been inviting developers to make use of, integrate, and provide feedback on our technology via a series of Alpha programs.
We kicked off OST KIT⍺ Phase II on April 16 with over 140 participants. Fast forward four weeks later and we received plenty of amazing halfway video updates. More than 80 teams submitted a two minute video a couple weeks ago in which they introduced their team and a quick update on their progress creating a Proof of Concept integration with OST. We are excited to see the final projects which are due Friday 25 May 2018, 1:00pm UTC.
Here’s our YouTube playlist for all submitted videos:
Developers providing successful POC submissions will each receive 50,000 OST as developer rewards. We also created a Grand Reward of 250,000 additional OST for the #1 Ready-to-Ship POC plus four additional categories, each with a reward of 25,000 additional OST.
Coming up next: OST KIT⍺ Phase III With OST Wallet API
While Phase II is still in full swing, we’ve already started planning for the next challenge, slated for a summer launch. You can fill out this form to become one of the first to know when OST KIT⍺ Phase III is open for applications! https://goo.gl/PUeD41
OST KYC
When we first built our “Know Your Customer” (KYC) tool back in November 2017, we wanted to ensure smooth, legally compliant processing of all valid participants in our ICO. Fast forward six months later and we’re looking at the ultimate whitelisting tool, tailored to the needs of real customers. Our plug-and-play KYC/AML management solution can process thousands of applicants a day.
Here’ s what’s upcoming on our OST KYC Roadmap over the next few weeks:
- GDPR Compliance: We’re in the final process of updating our documentation detailing our compliance with Europe’s General Data Protection Regulation, which will go into effect on 25 May 2018 This includes giving users the option to delete their personal data.
- Identity Verification: Up next is the implementation of OCR (short for Optical Character Recognition) which compares personal data, like name and DOB, with what’s shown on official identification papers, like your passport.
- Facial Recognition: Alongside OCR we’re also working on facial recognition, meaning that our KYC solution will be able to compare the photograph on your identification papers with a recent selfie.
OST @ BlockShow Europe 2018
Our Director of Market Development & Global Blockchain Evangelist, Paul J. Du Plessis, will be attending this year’s BlockShow in Berlin. If you’re going to be there, send him a note at partners@ost.com.
We’re also working on sharing our overall event participation for 2018. Do let us know of events you are attending or organizing — we’d love to meet you in person!
About OST
OST is building the complete blockchain toolkit for business.
Our ambition is to be the blockchain technology partner of choice for businesses of all sizes and levels of technical sophistication, enabling any business to create, launch, and manage their own branded digital token economy powered by OpenST protocols and OST blockchain management software. The OpenST protocol enables companies to launch branded token economies on highly scalable, open, cryptographically auditable side blockchains. OST is actively investing in an ecosystem of developers and apps built on OST, to help drive requirements from actual use cases.
