Open Wallet Score:
Making Blockchain Trust Simple
Blockchain technology has revolutionized finance and innovation, but navigating its world can feel risky, especially for newcomers. Trust is the key to safe transactions. How can users ensure that the wallets they interact with are secure and reliable? That's where the Open Wallet Score (OWS) comes in—a simple solution that makes buckets of common sense. Empower users with trust in their own actions when using Cardano.
We sat down with Max van Rossem and Stephan Schmidt, two key figures behind OWS, to learn more about the Open Wallet Score, its benefits, and its future.
So, what Is the Open Wallet Score?
Max explains:
"The Open Wallet Score is like a trust score card for blockchain wallets. It analyzes on-chain activity—things like transaction history and staking status—to give users an objective overview of the wallet they are about to interact with. This helps users make informed decisions when interacting with other wallets."
At its core, OWS simplifies the complexities of blockchain transactions. By offering clear, data-driven trust metrics, it can help detect scams and builds user confidence when using Cardano.
How It Works
Stephan Schmidt, one of the minds behind OWS, emphasized that the infrastructure was designed to balance transparency, speed, and security. He highlighted that this system extracts real-time blockchain data and preprocesses it through an aggregation layer, ensuring users can access wallet scores instantly without delays.
The system will include:
1. A Web Application: Users can input wallet addresses and instantly retrieve trust scores, along with detailed metrics.
2. Developer-Friendly Tools: With an API and SDK, OWS encourages third-party platforms to embed wallet scores, making trust evaluation accessible across multiple tools.
3. User Reports: A community-driven feature allows users to flag suspicious wallets, strengthening the ecosystem’s safety.
Max added that the user experience was a central focus. He stressed their commitment to making the platform intuitive for everyone, from blockchain experts to newcomers.
Why OWS Matters
Blockchain, for all its potential, can be intimidating for new users. OWS helps break down this barrier by making trust a measurable and accessible metric. Whether you’re sending funds or collaborating on-chain, knowing the trustworthiness of the other party’s wallet enhances your confidence.
For everyday users: OWS provides peace of mind, ensuring safer transactions.
For developers: The open source API and SDK allow seamless integration into dApps and tools, encouraging widespread adoption.
As Stephan and Max conveyed in their conversation, “OWS isn’t just a tool—it’s a step towards fostering a culture of accountability in Cardano’s blockchain. When users have the power to evaluate and report wallet activity, the ecosystem becomes inherently safer.”
OWS is innovation for new types of Dapps
Beyond checking wallets before a transaction Dapps can leverage the score to enhance their platforms too. AdaMoments.io, a decentralized social media, aims to adopt OWS to provide a handhold for P2P social media interactions. In the era of Cardano’s governance, voices of the community will matter. Knowing which voices are honorable participants of Cardano’s ecosystem will guide Cardano further and incentivize constructive conversations.
Max says: In some sense blockchains can manifest the expression of ‘Put your money where your mouth is’. Perhaps more fitting would be the quote ‘Put your digital reputation where your mouth is.’
The long-term impact, as Stephan points out "The more we encourage responsible behavior on the blockchain, the safer and more accessible it becomes for new users."
Roadmap for the Future
OWS is just getting started. The team already has an alpha of the OWS API live at OpenWalletScore.com. Here’s what’s next:
Phase 1: Develop wallet scoring with community and expert feedback.
Phase 2: Deploy the OWS on Dapps and wallets providers, iterate API and SDK.
Phase 3: Launch educational initiatives to help users (and devs) use OWS.
The Open Wallet Score isn’t just a tool; it’s a movement toward transparency and security in the blockchain space. By simplifying trust and encouraging collaboration, OWS has the potential to reshape how we interact on platforms like Cardano.
You can support the OWS by voting on their catalyst proposal here.
"OWS makes the blockchain world feel less intimidating, we hope many Dapps and wallet developers will use it and challenge us to make it better. In the end it’s about helping users trust technology—and each other."
- Max van Rossem, Co-Founder, Adamoments.io
.
OWS is just getting started. The team already has an alpha of the OWS API live at: