What Is EOS?

EOS is one of the largest blockchain-based platforms for building and deploying decentralized applications (dApps). As outlined in its design specifications, the EOSIO protocol emulates most of the key functions and attributes of an actual computer system. These include managing hardware components such as CPUs, GPUs, hard drives and RAM for storage and memory; and software used to interact with the platform.

Both the hardware and software resources are distributed evenly among EOS cryptocurrency holders. As a smart contract-enabled platform, the EOSIO protocol also outlines the specifications for the development of a decentralized operating system. EOS’ ICO was one of the largest ever, raising over $4bn and the EOS token has proved popular with traders.

Developing Scalable, Industrial-Scale Applications:

The EOS development environment has specifically been designed to facilitate the development of industrial-scale dApps. In order to manage the creation of distributed applications, the EOS platform operates through a “decentralized autonomous corporation” model.

Initially proposed and developed by Daniel Larimer, a computer scientist who’s also responsible for the development of blockchain-powered networks Steem and BitShares, the EOS platform does not require that users pay transaction fees and its founders claim it will scale to process millions of transactions per second (TPS).

EOS Mainnet Launched in June 2018

After its whitepaper was released in 2017, Block.one, a Cayman Islands-registered open-source software publishing firm, introduced the first version of EOS’ mainnet software the following year, and the highly-anticipated crypto platform went live on June 9, 2018.

In order to evenly distribute the platform’s native crypto token, the developers at Block.one distributed 1 billion ERC-20 compliant tokens among the platform’s early adopters. The main purpose behind distributing such a large amount of tokens was to give all network participants the opportunity to launch the EOS blockchain once the mainnet’s codebase had been released.

$1 Billion in Funding Allocated Towards EOS’ Ongoing Development

Brendan Blumer, the CEO of Block.one, had announced (at the time of the mainnet launch) that his firm would support the ongoing development of the EOSIO protocol by allocating $1 billion in funding to the distributed ledger technology (DLT)-based project. The funds came from the $4 billion in capital raised by Block.one through the world’s largest initial coin offering (ICO) in mid-2018.

 Prior to releasing the first version of EOS’ mainnet, the protocol’s developers launched several test networks (testnets). These included Dawn 1.0, the original or very first EOSIO protocol-enabled tesnet, which was introduced on September 3, 2017. On December 4, 2017, the second EOS testnet, Dawn 2.0, was released and testnets Dawn 3.0 and Dawn 4.0 were launched on January 25, 2018 and May 7, 2018 respectively.

Decentralized Storage Model Aims to Solve Scalability Problems

 The EOS network is mainly used to deploy and host dApps, and the EOSIO protocol also supports smart contract functionality and the capability to implement decentralized storage of enterprise-level software applications. Notably, EOS’ distributed design and storage architecture aims to address the scalability problems that plague major cryptocurrency platforms including Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH).

 
As explained, there are no transaction fees charged on the EOS network. The developers of the EOSIO protocol claim their platform can maintain a zero-fee model due to its multi-threaded (ability to operate on multiple CPU cores) design. Additionally, EOS’ delegated proof-of-stake (DPoS)-based consensus algorithm helps in achieving a zero-fee transaction model. 

 As stated in its whitepaper, the EOSIO protocol specifies how to implement the world’s first decentralized operating system. Existing blockchain-powered social media applications such as Steemit and decentralized cryptoasset exchange (DEX) BitShares may run on the EOS network.

 Network Resources Allocated In Proportion to Stake in the Platform

 The primary native cryptocurrency, EOS, has been designed to serve as a utility token, which may be used to access EOS network resources such as bandwidth and storage space on the public blockchain network. According to EOS’ technical documentation, users are allocated network resources in proportion to their overall stake in the platform. For instance, a user who owns 5% of EOS tokens would be able to utilize up to 5% of total network resources available.

 EOS token holders may also use their cryptocurrency to cast votes and participate in on-chain governance-related matters. A user’s voting power, or influence, is proportional to the size of their stake in the EOS network. The EOS Constitution requires that platform users vote for 21 block producers (BPs) (at the time when the DLT-enabled network went live). 

 After the EOS mainnet launch, network participants continue to vote for their preferred delegates or BPs. These full-node operators are tasked with generating and validating blocks – with block times set to 500 ms.