In the Wild West of crypto, where scams and fraud remain common, one team is betting on a novel solution: bringing reputation on-chain. Ethos Network, a platform designed to establish credibility and trust in the crypto space, is gaining traction as it tackles one of the industry’s most persistent problems—bad actors.
The brainchild of Trevor Thompson (aka Serpin Taxt) and Ben Walther, Ethos was born out of frustration with rampant scams plaguing the space.
“I used to do a lot of trading in crypto, and I witnessed a lot of the crime, fraud, and scams that have become more apparent in recent cycles,” Thompson told Decrypt. “I felt inspired by the opportunity to solve some of that.”
The idea crystallized after Thompson’s experience with Friend.tech, the since abandoned social platform where users buy and sell “keys” tied to Twitter accounts. While Friend.tech introduced the concept of tying on-chain actions to social identity, it fell short of addressing trust and credibility.
An example of an Ethos profile and score. Image: Ethos
“Friend.tech was never trying to solve reputation, but it felt like it was the first insight,” Thompson said. “What if we could tie someone’s on-chain actions to who they are as a person, and document that on-chain?”
Walther, Thompson’s co-founder and Ethos Labs CTO, has been combating fraud, scams, and cyberattacks since 2006 in his role as a security expert. Thompson approached Walther with his idea for Ethos, sparking a collaboration between the two. Their friendship initially formed when Walther purchased Thompson’s Friend.tech key and flipped it shortly thereafter for a 2x gain.
Since then, they raised a $1.75 million funding round led by 60 Web3 community angel investors including 0xQuit, Dingaling, Sighduck, Dragos, 0xMakesy, and Zeneca.
From concept to reality
Ethos, which launched in January, aims to create a “proof of credibility” system, directly documenting trust through a vouching system. Users can vouch for others by staking money against their reputation. The stakes can be withdrawn at any time
The Ethos website puts it simply: “Contribute and earn by building your reputation, backing others or penalizing bad actors. Use the Ethos credibility score to better understand who you can trust and who to avoid.”
The kind of feedback seen on Ethos profiles. Image: Ethos
Ethos participants are assigned “credibility scores” based on how trustworthy they are, akin to credit scores but focused on social standing. The score is determined by the platform’s most engaged and reputable members.
“Friend.tech’s bonding curve muddied the data about who trusts whom,” Thompson explained. “We wanted to create a system where trust is directly documented and economically secure, without the unnecessary financial downside.”
The platform has drawn comparisons as the Rate My Professors or Yelp for crypto. Thompson generally agrees, but sees it as something more.
“Think about how you buy products or choose doctors today—reviews and reputation matter. In crypto, we’re all independent businesses working with each other, and trust is essential. Being able to vouch really adds weight to it.”
One early criticism of Ethos is the potential for a “circle jerk” effect, where users vouch for each other to inflate their credibility scores. Thompson acknowledges this risk, but argues that it’s part of the process.
“You want people to vouch for each other—that’s the point. The goal is to raise the bar for reputation and separate credible people from bots and scammers.”
He addressed criticism for the “(3,3)” model, also known as “vouch for vouch,” in an X post, writing that negative reviews and slashing mechanisms exist to punish bad actors who try to manipulate the system.
(3,3) + cooperation are critical to the success of Ethos & crypto’s social landscape
…but it’s largely misunderstood & misdescribed
Two people supporting each other through reciprocated reviews/vouches is healthy & encouraged
The slashing mechanism is inspired by proof-of-stake blockchain networks, allowing users to propose slashing someone’s credibility score by staking their own reputation. If the majority agrees, then the target loses credibility points.
“It’s a way to hold people accountable and ensure the system remains fair,” Thompson said.
Building for the future
Ethos is still in its early stages, with around 1,000 users and a team of six builders. The platform is currently invite-only, a decision the founders say is intentional.
“We want to grow it at a sustainable rate,” said Thompson. “If we just open it for everyone, then everyone might join and then we might not retain any of those people—and then they just won’t participate in the future. It happens a lot in Web3 with hype cycles.”
Looking ahead, the team is exploring features like reviews built with zero-knowledge or ZK tech, which would allow users to leave anonymous reviews while still proving their credibility. “This could help people share honest feedback without fear of backlash,” Thompson said.
The platform’s long-term vision extends beyond crypto, too. “Imagine a world where reputation is portable and verifiable across platforms—whether you’re hiring a freelance copywriter, or making a peer-to-peer transaction,” Thompson said. “That’s the future we’re building toward.”
As Ethos continues to grow, it faces the challenge of balancing openness with integrity. But for the team, the mission is clear: to create a system where reputation is transparent, verifiable, and on-chain. This is achieved through “backing reputation through financial security, making reputation itself inherently valuable and able to be instrumented, measured, and rewarded.”
“The reality is, people aren’t thinking about the consequences of their actions yet,” Thompson said. “But over time, as more data is stored on-chain, the truth will prevail.”
Ethos users are earning XP towards… something. Image: Ethos
When asked the million-dollar question of whether or not Ethos is planning on launching a token, Thompson answered ambiguously, but assured that they are working to reward users in some way.
“I can tell you that our XP system is designed to inform us in the future of how we might reward people beyond just XP,” Thompson said. “It helps us understand the right incentive mechanisms. and ensure that people are following those incentive mechanisms, balancing those incentive mechanisms.”
Token or not, in a space where trust is often in short supply, Ethos is betting that reputation—backed by blockchain—will be the ultimate currency.
Edited by Andrew Hayward
Daily Debrief Newsletter
Start every day with the top news stories right now, plus original features, a podcast, videos and more.
