Ethos, a decentralized social (DeSo) application focused on bringing reputation and credibility on-chain, has successfully closed a $1.75 million pre-seed funding round. The funding was led by a collective of prominent web3 angel investors, including Bharat Krymo, James Hall, 0xQuit, Tre, Dingaling, Sighduck, Dragos, 0xMakesy, and Zeneca. The capital will be utilized to finalize the Ethos product, set to launch on Base later this summer.
Founded in 2023, Ethos Network introduces a novel credibility protocol that leverages Ethereum’s validation functionality to confirm user credibility, a process termed “social validation.” By allowing users to stake their Ethereum on others, Ethos aims to foster a trustworthy environment in the web3 space. Participants in the Ethos network receive credibility scores, akin to credit scores but for social capital. These scores are determined by the most active and credible users within the Ethos community.
Trevor Thompson, Founder of Ethos and General Partner at 0x5f Capital, emphasized the importance of this initiative, stating, “The biggest problem in crypto is that fraud, scams, and rug pulls continue to extract time and money from the space. With over nine billion dollars lost annually to crypto fraud schemes, it’s crucial to validate trustworthiness to prevent the industry from being overwhelmed by bad actors. With this funding, Ethos aims to create a trusted environment built on accountability and accurately measured reputation.”
The Ethos protocol allows users to stake their Ethereum to vouch for another person’s credibility based on their personal judgment. Should the vouched participant engage in behavior deemed unacceptable by the network, their staked ETH will be slashed, and the credibility score of the original user who vouched for them will be negatively impacted. This system incentivizes participants to build and validate their social reputation on-chain over time.
Ethos has broad applications across various sectors, including DeFi, NFTs, trading, gaming, community building, and DAOs.
Renowned angel investor Bharat Krymo expressed his enthusiasm, saying, “When the Ethos team presented the concept of building a project centered around proof-of-credibility, I was immediately interested. Supporting this team was an easy decision, and I’m excited to see the network provide a safer and more trustworthy decentralized web.”
For more information, users can visit the Ethos website and follow their updates on Twitter.
About Ethos:
Ethos is a decentralized social (DeSo) application dedicated to bringing reputation and credibility on-chain. It allows users to stake their Ethereum on other individuals to help crypto participants understand who they can trust in the web3 space.