Quant (QNT)

What is Quant (QNT)?

Summary of Quant

• Quant is a distributed ledger technology (DLT) service provider that improves connections and communications between blockchains.
• Quant’s software, Overledger, is the world’s first API gateway for leading blockchains.
• Quant is involved in the development of central bank digital currencies (CBDC), building on their experiences with US and UK central banks.

The Quant Network is a software focused on building connections between existing distributed ledger networks. Quant provides organizations and governments with the infrastructure they need to connect their products with multiple blockchains and efficiently transfer data between systems.

Today, numerous blockchain networks are in use by organizations and many are built with different coding languages and software development kits. Technical differences across these platforms often make it a challenge to connect to and transfer data from one blockchain to another. Quant aims to address this obstacle through their blockchain gateway, Overledger.

Overledger is not a blockchain itself, but an Application Programming Interface (API) gateway that connects blockchains together. Overledger allows organizations to share information efficiently with other networks. The Quant network’s native cryptocurrency token, QNT, powers the ecosystem and is used to pay for the use of the Quant network.

Who created Quant (QNT) ?

Quant Network was initially founded by Gilbert Verdian in 2015. The protocol raised over $11 million during a successful initial coin offering (ICO) in April 2018. Quant CEO Gilbert Verdian is the Chair of the UK Blockchain and Distributed Ledger Technology committee. Verdian is also a member of the EU’s Blockchain Observatory and the Federal Reserve. Colin Paterson and Paolo Tasca later joined Quant as co-founders in 2017, performing the roles of Chief Technology Officer and Chief Strategist, respectively.

Paolo Tasca later became an advisor for Quant before taking on a variety of other roles. Tasca serves as the Executive Director of the University College London (UCL) Centre for Blockchain Technologies, Executive Board Member of the DEC Institute and as Co-Chair of the Hedera Treasury Management and Token Economics Committee. Colin Paterson is a cybersecurity expert holding previous roles at Deutsche Bank and Vocalink — a company acquired by Mastercard in 2017.

How does Quant (QNT) work?

At the core of the Quant network is the Overledger DLT Gateway platform. Overledger provides an API link for businesses to connect their standard enterprise technology infrastructure with a range of blockchain ledgers. An API is a piece of intermediary software that creates or processes requests between two or more programs or computers. Most online applications, from trading software to social media sites, operate using an API.

Developers can use the Overledger operating system to launch multi-blockchain decentralized applications (mDApps). Launching an mDApp allows developers to create applications that are compatible with pre-existing, highly-adopted blockchains. QNT tokens are used to pay the licensing fees required to access Overledger. All fees, including developer and user fees, are paid with QNT tokens. Furthermore, QNT tokens must be held to create or use mDApps in the Quant ecosystem.

Quant Network also allows developers to launch their own blockchain-agnostic tokens using its QRC-20 token standard — similar to the ERC-20 token standard created by Ethereum for deploying compatible fungible tokens on its blockchain. The recent release of QRC-20 smart contracts introduced a drag and drop style system for creating QRC-20 tokens on the Quant Network — making it easy for businesses to deploy them without any prior experience.

Why does QNT have value?

Quant’s native cryptocurrency, QNT, is the sole payment method for use of their Overledger product. Adoption of Overledger by organizations and institutions is a meaningful driver of QNT’s value. Quant provides an enterprise-focused product that can improve workflows and data management for businesses. With QNT tokens powering their Overledger application, demand for the token may rise as new businesses onboard and take advantage of the product.

Quant states that a multitude of European banks and financial institutions are already using Overledger. Leveraging the shared API technology of Overledger, these institutions are able to connect their blockchain networks in minutes without any additional infrastructure. Quant partnered with the LCX exchange in April 2021 to improve the settlement technology of CBDCs using Overledger. Quant’s founder Gilbert Verdian has also assisted the Bank of England in talks regarding the potential for a “Britcoin.”