Author: Gamals Ahmed, CoinEx Business Ambassador
ABSTRACT
Oasis Network is a privacy-focused smart contract platform for open finance built using the Cosmos SDK. The project prioritizes applications and use-cases that promote data privacy and user confidentiality. It aims to achieve this goal by separating its consensus layer from its contract execution layer while providing a built-in interface connecting the two for privacy-preserving computation. The consensus layer acts as a hub that uses a Proof-of-Stake (PoS) mechanism to secure the network and reach a consensus on transaction validity. The execution layer consists of multiple, parallel runtimes (called ParaTimes) for specialized computation needs that each plug into the consensus layer.
1.INTRODUCTION
The Internet is an amazing platform for innovation, creativity, and free expression. Yet, its empowering design elements, like the end-to-end principle and global interoperability, have yet to be unleashed in truly transformative ways.
Oasis believe in building new technology that can give us a better Internet experience. One that transforms “users” into edge clients, and enables them to take back control of their data, and their digital experiences. One that fully respects individual privacy and autonomy, while still supporting amazing apps and services.
To get there, oasis’s team are fostering the development and growth of a privacy-first, decentralized computational network. A network that will grow and evolve with the inclusive community of developers, thinkers, and leaders who maintain it.
The Oasis Protocol Foundation looks to support projects focused on making that privacy-first Internet a reality. From building privacy-preserving applications, to developing more powerful tools for the network, to improving how it operates.
High-Level Components
At the highest level, Oasis Core is divided into two major layers: the consensus layer and the runtime layer as shown on the figure above.
The idea behind the consensus layer is to provide a minimal set of features required to securely operate independent runtimes running in the runtime layer. It provides the following services:
- Epoch-based time keeping and a random beacon.
- Basic staking operations required to operate a PoS blockchain.
- An entity, node and runtime registry that distributes public keys and metadata.
- Runtime committee scheduling, commitment processing and minimal state keeping.
On the other side, each runtime defines its own state and state transitions independent from the consensus layer, submitting only short proofs that computations were performed and results were stored. This means that runtime state and logic are completely decoupled from the consensus layer, and the consensus layer only provides information on what state (summarized by a cryptographic hash of a Merklized data structure) is considered canonical at any given point in time.
1.1 OVERVIEW ABOUT THE OASIS NETWORK
Designed for the next generation of blockchain, the Oasis Network is the first privacy-enabled blockchain platform for open finance and a responsible data economy. Combined with its high throughput and secure architecture, the Oasis Network is able to power private, scalable DeFi, revolutionizing Open Finance and expanding it beyond traders and early adopters to a mass market. Its unique privacy features can not only redefine DeFi, but also create a new type of digital asset called Tokenized Data that can enable users to take control of the data they generate and earn rewards for staking it with applications — creating the first ever-responsible data economy.
1.1.1 OASIS HISTORY
Oasis Labs, the core developer of the Oasis Network, was founded in 2018 by University of California at Berkeley professor Dawn Song. The development team raised $45 million from a16z cypto, Polychain Capital, and Binance Labs, among others, to support initial protocol development.
Oasis Network is a privacy-focused smart contract platform for open finance built using the Cosmos SDK. The project prioritizes applications and use-cases that promote data privacy and user confidentiality. Since Oasis uses the Cosmos SDK, it will eventually be able to connect to the broader ecosystem of Cosmos-enabled chains (called zones) once the IBC (Inter Blockchain Communication) Protocol launches.
Oasis differentiated itself by separating its consensus layer from its contract execution layer. These separate layers give Oasis the flexibility to support multiple, customizable runtimes (which it calls ParaTimes). This model is similar to how Avalanches features various subnets or how Polkadot secures and connects independent parachains.
Oasis’ privacy features create a new type of digital asset called ‘Tokenized Data’ that can enable users to take control of the data they generate and earn rewards for staking it with applications — creating an incentivized data economy. By supporting confidential smart contracts, data is kept private while being processed. This provides end-to-end data confidentiality on the blockchain, unlocking potential DeFi use-cases such as under-collateralized lending and prevention of front/back running.
1.1.2 WHY THE OASIS NETWORK?
- First Privacy-Enabled Blockchain: The Oasis Network is the world’s first scalable, privacy-enabled blockchain. ParaTimes on the Oasis Network can leverage confidential computing technology such as secure enclaves to keep data confidential — unlocking new use cases and applications for blockchain.
- Scalable, Private DeFi: The Oasis Network’s privacy-first design can expand DeFi beyond traders and early adopters — unlocking a new mainstream market. Plus its innovative scalability design brings fast speeds and high-throughput to DeFi transactions.
- First to Enable Data Tokenization: The Oasis Network can Tokenize Data, unlocking game changing use cases for blockchain, and an entirely new ecosystem of apps and projects on the network — powering the next generation of privacy-first applications.
- Rapidly Growing Community: The Oasis Network has a thriving community of close to a thousand node operators, developers, enterprise partners, ambassadors, and nearly ten thousand community members engaged in global social channels.
- Top-Tier Team: The Oasis Team is made up of top talent from around the world with backgrounds from Apple, Google, Amazon, Goldman Sachs, UC Berkeley, Carnegie Mellon, Stanford, Harvard and more — all committed to growing and expanding the impact of the Oasis Network.
1.1.3 CONSENSUS AND EMISSION
- General Emission Type: Inflationary
- Precise Emission Type: Dynamic Emission
- Supply Cap: 10,000,000,000.00
1. Supply Curve Details
About two billion ROSE tokens will be paid out as inflation rewards to stakers and delegators for contributing resources to the network.
Not all tokens have been released publicly or will be released publicly by mainnet launch. Due to release schedules and locks, only a fraction of the total existing token supply will be in circulation at the time of its mainnet launch. Tokens set aside for Staking Rewards will be disbursed in accordance with on-chain mining mechanisms, which are calculated based on how many blocks are produced, how many nodes are participating in staking, and how many tokens are staked.
2. Consensus Information
- General Consensus: Proof-of-Stake
- Precise Consensus: Tendermint BFT
3. Consensus Details
1. PoS and Validator Committee
Tokens can be self-delegated directly by each node operator or delegated to a node operator by other token holders. While the Oasis Network is designed with a modular architecture (by way of the Cosmos SDK) that can use any consensus system that satisfies these properties, it currently uses Tendermint as its consensus algorithm.
Validators must stake a minimum of 100 tokens to contribute to the network’s security. Each entity can have at most one node elected to the consensus committee at a time. Oasis Labs expects 70–100 validators to participate in the network’s consensus committee at launch. The chance of being selected for the committee will be proportional to a validator’s stake weight (self-staked amount plus delegated stake).
2. Staking Rewards Details
At launch, the network will target an inflation rate between 2% and 15%, with validator reward amounts dependent on the length of time staked. In order to be eligible for staking rewards per epoch, a node would need to sign at least 75% of blocks in that epoch.
The network will only slash for double-signing at launch. Double-signing penalties will result in the loss of the minimum stake amount (100 tokens) and will also freeze the node. Freezing the node is a precaution in order to prevent the node from being over-penalized. The Network will not slash for liveness or uptime at launch. Oasis will also require a 14-day unbonding period should validators or delegators choose to move their staked funds. During this time, staked tokens are at risk of getting slashed for double-signing and do not accrue rewards during this time.
3. Consensus Voting Power
The current voting power mechanism is stake-weighted. This means that the consensus voting power of a validator is proportional to its stake. In this model, the network will require signatures by validators representing greater than two-thirds of the total stake of the committee to sign a block. Note that in Tendermint, a validator’s opportunities to propose a block in the round-robin block proposer order are also proportional to its voting power.
1.1.4 NEW APPLICATION DOMAINS
Scalable, Private DeFi
The Oasis Network is designed to support confidential smart contracts, allowing it to keep data private while being processed. By providing end-to-end data confidentiality on Blockchain, the Oasis Network unlocks new and exciting use cases in DeFi. From under-collateralized lending to preventing front/back running, the Oasis Network can help expand DeFi beyond traders and early adopters to a mainstream market.
Example of how privacy can unlock new markets for DeFi
The network’s cutting-edge scalable features can help unblock DeFi as it works today, fixing the high-transaction fees and slow throughput currently plaguing other Layer 1 networks. Combined, Oasis’ unique ability to provide scalable, private DeFi is expected to make it the leading platform for unlocking the next generation of DeFi markets and use cases.
Data Tokenization & A Responsible Data Economy
The Oasis Network’s combination of confidential computing and blockchain enables a new paradigm called Tokenized Data. Blockchain allows for logging and enforcement of usage policies with high integrity and auditability. Confidential computing ensures that data remains private during computation and cannot be reused without permission. This capsule of data + policies creates a new kind of digital asset that can be consumed along specific guidelines for a specific fee or exchange of value.
With Tokenized Data, the Oasis Network can power the next generation of privacy-first applications and unlock a new responsible data society. Data providers on the Oasis Network can put their Tokenized Data to use. They can earn rewards by staking their data with apps that want to analyze it or control how their most sensitive information is consumed by the services they use.
2. TECHNOLOGY
The Oasis Network separates consensus and execution into two layers, the Consensus Layer and The ParaTime Layer, which gives the network a more flexible (and potentially versatile) design. Separation of consensus and execution allows ParaTimes to process transactions in parallel, meaning workloads processed on one ParaTime won’t slow down or impact another.
- The Consensus Layer accepts values from its clients (the ParaTimes) and writes these values into the next block of the blockchain. It also manages ROSE token operations and the selection of validators for the ParaTime consensus committee.
- The ParaTime Layer is where smart contract execution occurs. Each ParaTime can be developed in isolation to meet the needs of a specific application, such as confidential computation and open or closed committees.
Discrepancy Detection Discrepancy detection is the verifiable computing technique that Oasis uses to verify ParaTime execution. It permits the use of smaller ParaTime committees and requires a smaller replication factor for the same level of security, which according to the team, is more efficient than sharding or parachain models. The two key features include (1) random selection of compute nodes from a population to form a compute committee and (2) accepting the results only if all committee members agree. If there is a discrepancy, a separate protocol called “discrepancy resolution” is enabled. which serves as another security parameter.
ParaTime Logic and Tooling Oasis can support various forms of confidential computing technology through its flexible ParaTime system. For example, The Oasis Eth/WASI Runtime uses secure enclaves to keep data private while being processed.
Oasis Network also supports a number of tools and SDKs to assist developers in building applications. These SDKs rely on differential privacy that aims to protect individual data. The platform supports smart contracts in RUST. It also has a ParaTime that offers backward compatibility with Ethereum, which would allow Ethereum developers to migrate existing
contracts with minimal code changes. In addition, developers can build applications using existing Ethereum tools such as Truffle and Metamask.
2.1 THE OASIS NETWORK’S ARCHITECTURE
The Oasis Network is a Layer 1 decentralized blockchain network designed to be uniquely scalable, privacy-first and versatile.
The Network has two main architectural components, the Consensus Layer and the ParaTime Layer.
1. The Consensus Layer is a scalable, high-throughput, secure, proof-of-stake consensus run by a decentralized set of validator nodes.
2. The ParaTime Layer hosts many parallel runtimes (ParaTimes), each representing a replicated compute environment with shared state.