Remember when you were a kid, and half of your friends were on XBOX, and the other half were on PlayStation? It sucked, right? It would’ve been so much better if, regardless of their console, you could play the game with them.
Well, this is what we call ‘fragmentation’ in crypto. There are many blockchains, but very few can interact with one another. The solution? Making them interoperable. This means allowing them to seamlessly interact with one another. Cross-chain, multi-chain, bridges, gates- we’re bullish on them.
We’ve covered many projects that claim to have solved this interoperability problem and for more on these, explore our research reports.
Now, one project that claims to be tackling this issue is Quant (QNT). Let’s dive in to understand what it is, how it works and whether it really does solve the problems it claims to.
Introducing Quant
Quant launched in 2018 with the singular goal of connecting different blockchains and networks on a grand scale.
How does Quant work?
A blockchain is a distributed ledger. It is a log of transactions visible to everybody. The information can’t be forged, and everyone can see it. Each blockchain has a different purpose, but for the most part, they’re used for payments and building apps.
Now, on Quant, apps are the foundation of the blockchain. They’re the reason people are using the blockchain. So for a chain like Quant to thrive, it needs the best apps to be built on its platform.
MApps, also known as multi-chain decentralized apps, are built to work on multiple chains. This is great for blockchains as users aren’t put off using a particular chain because a certain app isn’t available on it. The catch? To build these apps on Quant, developers must hold a certain number of Quant (QNT) tokens.
Introducing Overledger
Developers use something called Overledger. Think of it as an operating service like iOS. It’s like a programming language that allows the apps to work on different chains. It can get quite complicated, but to understand Quant at a basic level, you don’t need to understand the intricacies. For now, all you need to know is that the Overledger network is the backbone of these apps.
What are the Tokenomics of QNT?
Everyone uses QNT tokens to participate in the Quant network. Think of them as access cards. A developer has to purchase a licence to build on the platform. This licence requires tokens to be locked up for 12 months to show commitment. The QNT tokens are then used to run the Overledger network.
The max supply of QNT tokens is set at 14,612,493 tokens. The allocations are as follows:
- 9.9 million QNT sold as part of the ICO
- 2.6 million QNT held in a company reserve
- 2 million QNT on hand, unlocked, that can be sold at any time
- 1.3 million QNT for the founding team
- 651,000 QNT for project advisors
Damn, that’s a lot of tokens held by the team- not exactly a decentralized project. The risk of the company dumping unlocked tokens has led to many sceptics of the project. Almost 40% are held by the team, with no clear vesting schedule; this raises alarms.
