In philosophy, ontology is the study of what exists. In crypto, Ontology is a public blockchain focused on decentralized identity and verifiable data, launched in 2018 by the team behind NEO. It runs on two tokens: ONT, which you stake and vote with, and ONG, which pays transaction fees and is earned by ONT stakers. If you are asking what is Ontology in a crypto context, the short answer is an identity-first layer-1 that, after a quiet few years, capped ONG at 800 million in late 2025 and is now pitching itself as a source of verified data for AI.
What is Ontology?
Ontology is a proof-of-stake blockchain designed to let people and organizations prove facts about themselves (age, credentials, reputation) without handing raw documents to every app. Its flagship component, ONT ID, is a decentralized identifier system: you hold cryptographic credentials in your own wallet and share only what a service needs. Around that sit a native virtual machine, an Ethereum-compatible EVM layer, and the ONTO wallet.
Key takeaways
- Tickers: ONT (governance and staking, 1 billion total) and ONG (gas and rewards, capped at 800 million since late 2025).
- Origins: created by Shanghai-based Onchain, the company behind NEO; ONT was first airdropped to NEO holders in March 2018.
- Mainnet: 30 June 2018.
- 2025 reform: node operators voted to burn 200 million ONG and permanently lock liquidity; the upgrade was completed in December 2025.
- 2026 focus: upgrading ONT ID to current W3C standards and positioning Ontology as a verification layer for AI and tokenized assets.
History and origin story
A sibling of NEO (2017–2018)
Ontology began in late 2017 inside Onchain, the Shanghai blockchain firm co-founded by Da Hongfei that also developed NEO. Li Jun, a blockchain architect with a background at the China Financial Futures Exchange and Infosys, became Ontology’s founder and public face. Da has described NEO and Ontology as independent teams, but the shared roots shaped Ontology’s early distribution and technology.
Readers interested in the chain where Ontology began can follow our guide on buying NEO and storing it in an N3 wallet for the full process.
The NEO airdrop
Instead of a public ICO, Ontology rewarded the NEO community. A snapshot on 1 March 2018 set a ratio of 0.2 ONT for every NEO held. The first half arrived on 7 March 2018 as NEP-5 tokens on the NEO blockchain; the second half went to holders’ addresses on Ontology’s own chain after launch, accessible with the same private keys.
Mainnet and the dual-token model (2018–2020)
Ontology’s mainnet went live on 30 June 2018, and NEP-5 ONT was swapped for native ONT. From the start the network used a two-token design borrowed from NEO’s NEO/GAS split: ONT represents stake and governance rights, while ONG is the fuel spent on transactions and is gradually released to ONT holders who stake. Over the next few years the team built out ONT ID, the ONTO and OWallet wallets, and Orange Protocol, a reputation layer that scores wallets based on on-chain behavior.
Quiet years and an EVM pivot (2021–2024)
Like many 2018-vintage chains, Ontology lost mindshare as Ethereum layer-2s, Solana and newer identity projects attracted developers. It responded by adding Ethereum Virtual Machine compatibility so Solidity contracts and MetaMask-style wallets could connect, but ecosystem activity remained modest compared with larger networks.
The ONG reform (2025)
From 28 to 31 October 2025, Ontology’s consensus (Triones) nodes voted on an ONG tokenomics proposal; it passed with about 117 million votes in favor and none against. The changes:
- 200 million ONG permanently burned, cutting the maximum and total supply from 1 billion to 800 million.
- ONG worth 100 million used to acquire ONT, paired into liquidity-pool tokens, and those LP tokens burned, creating permanent liquidity that can never be withdrawn.
- ONG keeps releasing at 1 ONG per second, but the release period stretches from about 18 to about 19 years, and staking emissions fall by roughly 20%.
The mainnet upgrade carrying these changes was scheduled for 1 December 2025 and reported complete later that month. In January 2026 governance also cut gas fees by 80%.
How Ontology works
Ontology secures its chain with VBFT, a consensus design that combines a verifiable random function (to pick who proposes and validates each round) with Byzantine fault tolerance (so blocks finalize once enough validators agree). A small set of consensus nodes, called Triones nodes, produce blocks; ONT holders back them by staking and share in the ONG they earn.
The identity stack is what makes Ontology different from a generic smart-contract chain:
- ONT ID issues decentralized identifiers and verifiable credentials. An app can check that you passed an age or residency check without storing your passport. This is the opposite of the document-upload model described in our guide to crypto KYC, though the two can work together.
- ONTO wallet holds tokens, NFTs and credentials in one app; the 2026 roadmap plans to fold reputation (Orange) and privacy features into it.
- Ontology EVM lets developers deploy Ethereum-style contracts that pay gas in ONG.
If the gas concept is new to you, our explainer on gas fees in crypto shows why a separate fee token like ONG exists.
Tokenomics: ONT vs ONG
| ONT | ONG | |
|---|---|---|
| Role | Staking, node governance | Gas fees, network usage, staking rewards |
| Supply | 1,000,000,000 total | 800,000,000 hard cap (after the 2025 burn) |
| Issuance | No new issuance | Released at 1 ONG per second over about 19 years |
| Where new ONG goes | 80% to ONT staking incentives; 20% plus transaction fees to ecosystem liquidity | |
Ontology says circulating ONG could fall toward roughly 750 million over time as the liquidity lock absorbs tokens; that is a projection, not a guarantee. Because ONG is both the gas token and the staking reward, its value depends on whether the chain gets enough usage to create demand for it.
How to buy, store and stake ONT
- Buy: ONT and ONG are listed on several large exchanges, though pairs and availability differ by region. Check a data aggregator’s markets tab and prefer liquid pairs.
- Withdraw to an Ontology wallet: ONTO (mobile and extension) and OWallet (desktop) support native ONT and ONG. Select the Ontology network, not an Ethereum or BNB Chain version, unless you are deliberately using a bridged token.
- Keep some ONG: every transaction, including staking actions, costs ONG gas, so leave a small balance.
- Stake: in ONTO or OWallet, choose a node, compare its fee share and stake, and authorize your ONT. Rewards arrive in ONG. Review unlock rules in the wallet before committing, since withdrawal timing depends on consensus rounds.
For how staking returns are generated across networks, see our crypto staking guide. Rewards vary with total stake and node fees; treat any advertised rate as a current estimate.
For current exchanges, our guide to buying Ontology (ONT) explains where ONT trades, which network to withdraw on and how claiming ONG works.
Risks: is Ontology a good investment?
- Adoption risk. Decentralized identity is a crowded field with larger, better-funded competitors, and real-world integrations of ONT ID have been limited.
- Roadmap risk. The 2026 AI and RWA plans are described by Ontology as areas to “explore and implement,” with no firm dates.
- Concentration. A small group of consensus nodes approved the 2025 reform unanimously; that is efficient, but it shows how concentrated governance is.
- Liquidity. Smaller order books can magnify price moves and make large exits costly.
- Two-token complexity. Holding ONT without ONG, or vice versa, can leave you unable to transact or under-exposed to the asset that actually captures fees.
Bull case: verifiable-credential demand from AI and tokenization brings real fee volume to a chain with a now-fixed ONG cap. Bear case: developers keep choosing bigger ecosystems and both tokens drift. Compare it with other identity and infrastructure coins in our crypto coin directory, and see how its sibling chain evolved in our NEO profile.
FAQ
What is Ontology in crypto versus philosophy?
In philosophy, ontology is the branch of metaphysics that studies the nature of being and what exists. In crypto, Ontology is a 2018 blockchain from the NEO team that specializes in decentralized identity and data verification, using the ONT and ONG tokens. The two share only a name; searching “Ontology ONT” or “Ontology blockchain” will filter results.
What is the difference between ONT and ONG?
ONT is the staking and governance token, with a fixed total of 1 billion. ONG is the gas token used to pay for transactions, and it is released gradually to ONT stakers. Since the December 2025 upgrade, ONG has a hard cap of 800 million after 200 million were burned. You generally need a little ONG to move or stake ONT.
Is Ontology related to NEO?
Yes, historically. Ontology was created by Onchain, the company co-founded by NEO’s Da Hongfei, and NEO holders received ONT through a two-part 2018 airdrop at 0.2 ONT per NEO. Today the projects run on separate chains with separate teams and roadmaps, so news about one does not directly affect the other.
What changed with Ontology’s 2025 ONG vote?
Node operators voted between 28 and 31 October 2025 to burn 200 million ONG, cap supply at 800 million, permanently lock about 100 million ONG worth of ONT/ONG liquidity and extend the release period to about 19 years. The upgrade went live in December 2025, reducing ONG staking emissions by around 20%.
Crypto is volatile and risky; this is education, not financial advice. Do your own research.
