The NEO-based virtual operating system project nOS has recently published the first version of its whitepaper. nOS founder, Dean van Dugteren, also shared a summary of the whitepaper, which notes the key points about the nOS platform and provides details regarding the upcoming token generation event (TGE). The official whitepaper summary can be found here.

nOS Introduction

nOS aims to streamline the development and deployment of dApps, whilst also providing a simple, transparent user experience for those who wish to interact with them. It is a full-stack solution that aims to allow applications or websites to be deployed in an open and decentralized manner. This is achieved through the combination of smart contracts, client-side code and public-key cryptography.

Current applications typically operate with their backends on private, closed servers, leaving users unable to verify the code. Without this information, there are no guarantees about how user data is being used. As smart contracts operate on decentralized blockchains, code is open-source which enables users to become fully aware of how their data will be transmitted.

nOS also aims to solve one of the key barriers to dApp adoption; the requirement for users to manually acquire a dApp’s native cryptocurrency in order to use it. nOS will integrate cryptocurrency exchange APIs to automatically convert primary blockchain currencies (such as NEO/GAS or ETH) into the required number of dApp tokens for any particular invocation.

The existing nOS APIs support the development of NEO dApps, but the team also aims to support Ethereum and other dApp platforms in the future. These will become available based on the requirements of developers within the nOS ecosystem.

nOS Client, Browser and dApp Gateway

End users that wish to access dApps deployed on nOS will do so using the nOS Client. The nOS Client acts as a wallet for both desktop and mobile devices, and provides access to the nOS Browser and dApp Gateway. The client can be downloaded here.

The nOS Browser is a web browser for nOS that also integrates the nOS Protocol, a web protocol over blockchain that allows secure access to nOS dApps. The dApp Gateway acts as a dApp discovery platform, similar to Google Play or App Store.

dApps are ranked on the Gateway via Decentralized Authority, a system which allows nOS token holders to participate in governance, gain reputation and performance-based revenue by staking their nOS tokens.

nOS Protocol, Name Service and Filesystem

The nOS Protocol resolves domain names registered with nOS Name Service, a Domain Name Service that allows dApps to claim domain names that are discoverable using nOS. These domain names use top-level domains such as .neo or .eth to indicate which blockchain hosts the dApp backend. Users can access the frontend of a dApp using its domain name within the nOS Browser.

The nOS ecosystem also features a distributed filesystem that allows client-side code and other frontend resources to be hosted in a decentralized manner. Coupled with open-source backend logic held within smart contracts, services on nOS may become fully decentralized and transparent.

nOS Utility Token and Generation Event

Deployment and maintenance of dApps on nOS requires use of the nOS Utility Token, which will employ various staking and reward features. The whitepaper released details on the token metrics surrounding the TGE, which can be found here, alongside the new vesting schedule and distribution models.

The whitepaper also notes a potential future Selective Supply Increase, which would periodically reward reputable participants (such as honest voters, high quality dApps, high performing filesystem nodes) with newly minted nOS tokens. The increase would never exceed 5% per year, and is intended to reward free and open-source applications by allowing them to generate revenue based only on the quality of the dApp, and to reward honest and high quality participation in the ecosystem.

The nOS public sale has a hard cap of $15,750,000, with both NEO and ETH being accepted. The presale allocation tiers are as follows:

  • Tier 1: 90,000 nOS
  • Tier 2: 45,000 nOS
  • Tier 3: 25,000 nOS

There are no discounts applied to any of the TGE stages with the exception of NEO Global Capital’s angel allocation, which gained a 20% discount on tokens and a 20% vested bonus on the amount paid pre-discount.

The nOS team also recently announced that 90% of Company Reserve and Ecosystem Adoption Fund tokens will be locked and distributed over the course of one year. The Company Reserve (33,750,000 nOS) and the Ecosystem Adoption Fund (67,600,000 nOS) will be removed from the initial circulating supply, reducing it to 190,000,000 nOS. This places around 83% of the initial circulating supply into the hands of the nOS community. The team’s token incentive allocation is vested for 2 years.

More information on nOS can be found at the links below.

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