Can Ethos Network trust and increase credibility in crypto?

In the wild west of Crypto, where scams and fraud remain common, one team gambles on a new solution: bringing reputation to the chain. Ethos Network, a platform that is designed to establish credibility and trust in the crypto space, gains a grip because it tackles one of the most persistent problems in the industry -Bad actors.

The brainchild of Trevor Thompson (Aka Serpin Taxt) and Ben Walther, Ethos was born out of frustration with unbridled scam that teased the space.

“I used to trade a lot of crypto and I witnessed a lot of crime, fraud and scams that have become clearer in recent cycles,” Thompson said Decrypt. “I felt inspired by the possibility of solving something of it.”

The idea crystallized after Thompson’s experience with friend.tech, the since abandoned social platform where users buy and sell “keys” that are linked to Twitter accounts. While Friend.Tech introduced the concept of binding actions on the chains of social identity, the shortage of tackling trust and credibility kept.

An example of an ethos profile and score. Image: Ethos

“Friend.tech never tried to solve the reputation, but it felt like it was the first insight,” said Thompson. “What if we could link someone’s actions in chains to who they are as a person, and document them in the chain?”

Walther, co-founder of Thompson and Ethos Labs CTO, has been fraud, scam and cyber attacks in his role as a security expert since 2006. Thompson approached Walther with his idea for Ethos and led to a collaboration between the two. Their friendship was initially formed when Walther bought Thompson’s friend. Tech key and shortly thereafter turned around for a profit of 2x.

Since then they have collected a financing round of $ 1.75 million under the leadership of 60 Web3 Community Angel Investors, including 0xquit, Dingaling, Sighduck, Dragos, 0xMakesy and Zeneca.

From concept to reality

Ethos, which is launched in January, aims to create a “proof of credibility” system, which means that trust is directly documented through a vouching system. Users can be responsible for others by encouraging money against their reputation. The bet can be withdrawn at any time

The Ethos website makes it simple: “Make and earn by building your reputation, supporting others or punishing bad actors. Use the Ethos -Reliefness score to better understand who you can trust and who you should avoid. “

The type of feedback that is seen about ethos profiles. Image: Ethos

Ethos participants are assigned “credibility scores” on the basis of how reliable they are, related to credit scores but focused on social status. The score is determined by the most involved and renowned members of the platform.

“Friend.tech’s binding curve has flooded the information about who is relating to whom,” Thompson explained. “We wanted to create a system where trust is immediately documented and economically safe, without the unnecessary financial disadvantage.”

The platform has drawn comparisons as the speed that my professors or Yelp for crypto. Thompson generally agrees, but sees it as a little more.

“Think about how you buy products or choose doctors today – revisions and reputation are important. In Crypto we are all independent companies that work with each other and trust is essential. Being able to guarantee, adds really weight. “

Early criticism of Ethos is the potential for a “Circle Jerk” effect, where users are responsible for each other to blow up their credibility scores. Thompson recognizes this risk, but claims that it is part of the process.

“You want people to be responsible for each other- that’s the point. The goal is to set the bar for reputation and to separate credible people from bots and scammers. “

He focused on the criticism of the “(3,3)” model, also known as “Vouch for Vouch”, in an X -post, writing that negative assessments and oblique mechanisms to punish bad actors who try to manipulate the system.

The cutting mechanism is inspired by block-of-stake blockchain networks, allowing users to propose to defeat someone’s credibility score by putting their own reputation. If the majority agrees, the target loses credibility.

“It is a way to keep people responsible and to ensure that the system stays honest,” said Thompson.

Build for the future

Ethos is still at an early stage, with around 1,000 users and a team of six builders. The platform is currently only inviting, a decision that is intentional according to the founders.

“We want to grow it at a sustainable pace,” said Thompson. “If we just open it for everyone, then everyone can participate and then we might not keep any of those people – and then they will simply not participate in the future. It happens a lot in web3 with hype -cycles. “

Looking ahead, the team investigates functions such as assessments built with zero knowledge or ZK Tech, with which users can leave anonymous assessments and yet prove their credibility. “This can help people share fair feedback without fear of recoil,” said Thompson.

The long -term vision of the platform also goes beyond Crypto. “Imagine a world where the reputation is portable and verifiable about platforms or now hires a freelance copywriter or perform a peer-to-peer transaction,” said Thompson. “That is the future we are building.”

As Ethos continues to grow, the challenge faces the challenge of balancing with integrity. But the mission is clear to the team: creating a system where reputation is transparent, verifiable and on-chain. This is achieved by “supporting reputation by financial security, so that the reputation itself is inherently valuable and able to be instrumented, measured and rewarded.”

“The reality is that people are not yet thinking about the consequences of their actions,” said Thompson. “But over time, as more data is stored on the chain, the truth will prevail.”

Ethos users earn XP to … something. Image: Ethos

When asked the question of a million dollars or ethos, it is planning to launch a token or not, Thompson replied ambiguous, but assured them that they work in some way to reward users.

“I can tell you that our XP system has been designed to inform us in the future about how we can reward people than just XP,” said Thompson. “It helps us to understand the right incentive mechanisms. And make sure that people who follow stimulation mechanisms and that balance stimulating mechanisms. “

Token or not, in a space where trust is often scarce, Ethos guesses that the reputation – returned by blockchain – will be the ultimate currency.

Published by Andrew Hayward