About Quantstamp (QSP)

QSP is the native token of Quantstamp, a leading blockchain security firm and smart contract auditor. Within the Quantstamp ecosystem, QSP is used as a means of payment for new smart contract audits.

 According to the project’s whitepaper, Quantstamp leverages decentralized computing power from a global network of validators to perform smart contract audits on behalf of independent blockchain/application developers. Within this framework, developers first submit unaudited smarts contracts to the protocol. Once submitted, the contract is analyzed by a validation node who utilizes Quantstamp’s proprietary software to scan its source code for any potential security flaws. After the verification process is complete, the validator produces a “proof-of-audit” hash confirming their work and collects the QSP-denominated fee put forth by contract’s developer.

Likewise, each contract analyzed by the protocol is equipped with its own bug bounty that’s used to reward operators for successfully identifying security flaws. Bugs can be identified by validation nodes during the audit process or by Quantstamp’s global network of dedicated Bug Finders. In the case that a bug is not found, the bounty payment is returned to the contract’s developers.

Individual contract source codes are uploaded for audit via Quantstamp’s Security Network, which provides a streamlined interface for both developers and the viewing public to observe and analyze flaws contained within a given contract. As of August 2022, the network was supported by a cohort of 38 independent nodes operating across four continents.

In addition to individual smart contract audits, Qauntstamp supports full-fledged enterprise grade auditing solutions for independent blockchains, DeFi protocol, NFT platforms, multinational corporations and sovereign governments. Current constituents include: Solana, Cardano, Compound, OpenSea, NBA Top Shot, Toyota, and the Government of Dubai, among others.

To date, Quantstamp has performed over 250 million smart contract audits and currently secures more than $200 million worth of tokenized value.

When was QSP created and how much was it worth?

Quantstamp was created in July of 2017 by a pair of software engineers, Richard Ma and Stephen Stewart. Prior to his foray into the world of blockchain, Ma, who is Quantstamp’s CEO, was a senior software engineer at Tower Capital Research, a high frequency trading firm.

In November of 2017, Quantstamp gained the backing of prominent startup accelerator Y Combinator which accepted the platform as part of their Winter 2018 class. One year later, Quantstamp raised $3.13 million from a series of investors, including Y Combinator as well as ConsenSys and Block Ventures, among others. Another funding round was slated for some time in the summer of 2022, Crunchbase said. 

 Quantstamp’s native token, QSP, was first released through a $31.3 million initial coin offering (ICO) in November of 2017 at a price of $0.072. 

Price data from Coingecko indicates that QSP endured a volatile first month of existence before making a near parabolic move up to a record high of $0.78 in January of 2018. However, this rally ultimately proved to be short-lived with the token losing nearly 65% of its value soon thereafter. Apart from small upwards price movements in May of 2018 and March/April of 2021, QSP has largely spent the past four years trading within a tight, consolidated range. As of August 2022, QSP was changing hands for less than $0.02.

How is the price of QSP determined?

A deflationary asset, QSP has a hard cap of 1 billion tokens, of which some 713 million are currently in circulation. Per CoinBureau, 65% of QSP’s total supply was disseminated via the ICO, and another 20% allocated towards Quantstamp’s core development team. Some 10% of supply was earmarked for the platform’s reserve fund, while the remaining 5% was put towards community development efforts.

Why does QSP have value?

Roughly 1.45 million smart contracts reportedly have been deployed on the Ethereum network. Many contain massive chunks of valuable liquidity. Given the decentralized nature of many blockchain-based applications, ensuring the security of these autonomous contracts is paramount. Quantstamp is a leader within the smart contract audit space, securing, globally, contracts worth more than $200 million.

Is QSP secure?

As a smart contract auditor, Quantstamp actively works to improve the security mechanisms of not only individual smart contracts, but also independent blockchains, NFT platforms and DeFi-centric applications. The platform’s proprietary security network is currently backed by 38 nodes operating across four continents. Quantstamp’s native token QSP is ERC-20 compliant and supports various wallet and exchange-based storage solutions.

What are the main benefits of QSP?

• Quantstamp’s security network leverages a decentralized cadre of node operators to perform individual smart contract audits. 
• Quantstamp currently serves a number of leading blockchains, including Solana and Cardano, as well as NFT platforms (e.g., OpenSea), companies (Toyota) and governments (Dubai). 
• Quantstamp’s streamlined user interface allows developers to view and fix security bugs.

What do critics say about QSP?

Quantstamp's community members once accused the project of misleading them about its QSP token and proprietary technology, CoinDesk reported back in 2018.