What Is Quant Network?
Quant Network is a private company headquartered in London, England. Contrary to popular belief, Quant isn’t a blockchain.
Rather, they’ve created an operating system called Overledger. Think of the Overledger OS like a layer that sits on top of various independent blockchains, allowing them to communicate and exchange data with each other.
The Overledger operating system also makes it easier for developers to build decentralized apps (Dapps) and smart contracts that can connect to and use multiple blockchain networks.
So, under the overledger layer, we can have blockchains that can communicate with each other, along with blockchain agnostic applications. This opens the door for a wide variety of potential use cases.
Why Would Developers Use Quant Network And Overledger?
Quant Network and Overledger have some strong and unique selling points..
- They help different blockchain networks work together. As mentioned above, Overledger is a platform that lets people build and use decentralized apps and smart contracts that can communicate and share information with other blockchain networks, even if they use different protocols.
- Overledger can handle a lot of traffic without slowing down. This makes it a good choice for developers who want to build apps that a lot of people will use.
- Overledger is designed to be secure and protect against cyber threats like hacking.
- Overledger is easy for developers to use, with a simple interface and clear instructions.
- Developers can use Overledger to make money from their apps by charging people to use them. They can charge in QNT, other digital currencies, or fiat.
What is the QNT Token Used For?
The QNT token is the native currency of the Quant Network. It’s an Ethereum based ERC-20 token, however, it can be bridged over and used on other blockchains as well. This can be done via an atomic swap or cross chain messaging.
The token is primarily used for transactions. Here are things it’s required for..
- You need QNT to use the Overledger platform.
- Developers can use QNT to charge people for using their apps.
- If you want to use certain features of Overledger, you’ll need to pay for them with QNT.
- QNT can be used to make purchases in a way that complies with the law. You can buy things with fiat, and then the Quant Network will convert that money into QNT for you.
End users who want to use multiple decentralized applications (mDApps) and access the Overledger ecosystem will also need to hold QNT tokens. For example, they will need QNT to renew their license key annually.
What are multiple decentralized applications (mDApps)?
mDApps are unique types of decentralized applications built on the Overledger platform that can interact with and exchange data with multiple blockchain networks.
They are designed to be able to exchange data and communicate with other blockchain networks, even if those networks use different protocols or consensus algorithms.
For developers, the process of upgrading their Dapps to become mDAapps recently became easier with an upgrade to Overledger 2.0.
As described on the Quant Network website..
“With Overledger 2.0, developers can get the best out of all DLT ecosystems by allowing single-DLT DApps to be universally interoperable. Transforming single blockchain DApps to cross-platform Multi-DLT applications (mDApps) that are no longer bound to any single blockchain.”
Who is behind the Quant Network?
Quant was founded by a cybersecurity expert named Gilbert Verdian, who currently serves as the CEO of the company. Prior to founding Quant Network, he held a number of senior roles in the public sector and private sector, including Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) at the UK Ministry of Defence and Head of Security at VocaLink, a financial services company. He has also worked as a consultant for a number of major companies, including IBM and PwC.
Gilbert also seems to have ties to the banking industry, specifically the central banks. His resume shows that he did some work for both the Federal Reserve and the Bank of England.
Quant isn’t a one man show though, and there are obviously several advisors and developers working on the project. As for how large the team is? Well, it’s a private company, but according to their company profile on “pitchbook”, they have over 70 employees as of 2023.
What partnerships does the Quant Network have?
In 2021, Gilbert mentioned that Quant has been working with over 300 different financial institutions, though he didn’t list them by name.
This could be via NDA protected arrangements on an individual level, or it could be through their partnership with Sia, which is the leading provider of tech infrastructure for financial institutions throughout Europe.
Sia works with hundreds of banks, and according to this partnership announcement, they will be working on integrating Quant’s Overledger OS into the SIAchain infrastructure with the goal of enabling interoperability.
By extension, this means that hundreds of banks could be using Quant’s technology in the near future. Central banks may end up using it for their upcoming CBDC’s (Central Bank Digital Currencies) – though that’s merely speculation at this point.
The speculation, however, is warranted due to Gilbert’s ties to the banking sector and the fact that pro-CBDC articles are frequently showcased on Quant’s website under “in the press” section. Gilbert and his Quant network are often referenced in these articles.
Side Note: CBDC’s are a terrible idea and should not be adopted by anyone who values freedom. The general public, however, will be herded into them as they give the controllers more control – which is the entire point.
Amazon has included Quant as a technology partner for their AWS services, enabling their million+ active customers to have access to their Overledger tech.
Oracle is another well known company who has partnered with Quant. Oracle is best known for their database software. Oracle is now utilizing Overledger, and this page talks in detail about the integration: Overledger and Oracle partnership info.
Quant also has an interesting partnership with LACChain. LACChain is a blockchain initiative involving several countries throughout Latin America and the Caribbean (hence the “LAC” name). It was headed up by the Inter American development bank, and the goal of this LACChain initiative is to foster the development of a strong blockchain ecosystem in the region.
When speaking on this, Gilbert said they were asked by the Inter-American development bank to bring their Overledger technology to Latin America to interconnect the region and create an inter-bank network for the upcoming Latin American dollar.
Their partnership with Hyperledger is quite significant as well. Hyperledger is a consortium of heavy-hitting corporations throughout the world. They are integrating Overledger into Hyperledger Quilt – which is a Java implementation of Interledger; a suite of open protocols and standards that allows payments interoperability across any currency – fiat or crypto.
Quant is also a founding member of INATBA, which is an acronym for the International Association for Trusted Blockchain Applications. Here’s a full list of founding members.
INATBA is at the core of the ISO20022 ecosystem. ISO20022 is a massive change to the world’s financial infrastructure. Learn about ISO20022 in more detail here.
The rabbit hole goes deep with the Quant Network. If you have about an hour or so to watch a great research video, I’d suggest watching this one..
Overall Thoughts..
If you’ve read till this point, you’re likely come to the conclusion that this project has big aspirations. The scope of what they’re doing is beyond what most projects are hoping to achieve.
Will Overledger become a key technological component to the interconnectivity of blockchains and decentralized applications?
Will it become the backbone for interoperability of upcoming central bank digital currencies?
Maybe. Maybe not.
Is it worth a bet? I personally think so – but of course, that’s not financial advice.
Ideally though, I’d like to see CBDC’s fail.. along with the central banks who are going to try to get everyone to use them.
Monetary centralization is no longer needed. This should be the age of decentralization. That’s kind of the point of all this.
