EOS.IO is a
blockchain
The blockchain is a distributed ledger with growing lists of Record (computer science), records (''blocks'') that are securely linked together via Cryptographic hash function, cryptographic hashes. Each block contains a cryptographic hash of th ...
protocol based on the
cryptocurrency
A cryptocurrency (colloquially crypto) is a digital currency designed to work through a computer network that is not reliant on any central authority, such as a government or bank, to uphold or maintain it.
Individual coin ownership record ...
EOS. The smart contract platform claims to eliminate
transaction fees and also conduct millions of transactions per second. It was developed by the private company Block.one and launched in 2017. The platform was later released as open-source software.
History
Based on a
white paper
A white paper is a report or guide that informs readers concisely about a complex issue and presents the issuing body's philosophy on the matter. It is meant to help readers understand an issue, solve a problem, or make a decision. Since the 199 ...
published in 2017, the EOSIO platform was developed by the private company Block.one and released as open-source software on June 1, 2018. At the launch of the blockchain, one billion tokens were distributed as
ERC-20 tokens by Block.one. The CEO of Block.one,
Brendan Blumer, announced that the company would support the EOSIO blockchain with over one billion USD in funding from the token sale and ultimately Block.one raised over four billion USD to support the blockchain during the
initial coin offering
An initial coin offering (ICO) or initial currency offering is a type of funding using cryptocurrencies. It is often a form of crowdfunding, although a private ICO which does not seek public investment is also possible. In an ICO, a quantity of c ...
(ICO) period.
The original
test net, Dawn 1.0, was released on September 3, 2017, with test net versions Dawn 2.0 released on December 4, 2017, Dawn 3.0 on January 25, 2018, and Dawn 4.0 on May 7, 2018. The name of the cryptocurrency EOS comes from
Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the classical antiquity, ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Greek ...
Ἠώς, "dawn".
EOSIO's Dawn 1.0 was launched on the EOSIO mainnet on June 1, 2018, and is currently operating under version 2.1.0.
In September 2019, Block.one agreed to settle
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government, created in the aftermath of the Wall Street crash of 1929. Its primary purpose is to enforce laws against market m ...
charges related to the $4 billion unregistered ICO for a $24 million penalty. The settlement did not require a restitution offer, registration of tokens, or any disqualifications.
In 2021, EOS was noted as having lower
environmental impact
Environmental issues are disruptions in the usual function of ecosystems. Further, these issues can be caused by humans ( human impact on the environment) or they can be natural. These issues are considered serious when the ecosystem cannot reco ...
than most other cryptocurrencies.
EOS Network Foundation
In August 2021, Yves La Rose founded the organization EOS Network Foundation (ENF). La Rose is an EOS enthusiast who disputes the way Block.one has managed to blockchain and its tokens. The organization has attempted to pressure Block.one into reinvesting its profits into development of the blockchain, and to support new development.
Block.one, EOSIO ecosystem and Everipedia
Block.one is a company registered in the
Cayman Islands
The Cayman Islands () is a self-governing British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory, and the largest by population. The territory comprises the three islands of Grand Cayman, Cayman Brac and Little Cayman, which are located so ...
, which began offering EOS tokens in June 2017 to the public, raising over $4 billion (a record for an
ICO).
Daniel Larimer was the
Chief Technology Officer of Block.one. Larimer had previously worked on the decentralized exchange Bitshares from 2013 to 2016. After that, he worked on
Steemit, a blockchain-based social media platform. On January 10, 2021, Larimer announced his resignation from Block.one.
On December 6, 2017,
Everipedia
Everipedia (), renamed IQ.wiki in 2022, is a blockchain-based online encyclopedia. Everipedia was founded in 2014 and was officially launched in 2015, as a fork of Wikipedia. Larry Sanger (who co-founded Wikipedia) joined the company in 2017, ...
, a for-profit,
wiki
A wiki ( ) is a form of hypertext publication on the internet which is collaboratively edited and managed by its audience directly through a web browser. A typical wiki contains multiple pages that can either be edited by the public or l ...
-based
online encyclopedia
An online encyclopedia, also called an Internet encyclopedia, is a digital encyclopedia accessible through the Internet. Some examples include pre-World Wide Web services that offered the '' Academic American Encyclopedia'' beginning in 1980, Enc ...
, announced plans using EOS blockchain technology and work on an
airdrop
An airdrop is a type of airlift in which items including weapons, equipment, humanitarian aid or leaflets are delivered by military or civilian aircraft without their landing. Developed during World War II to resupply otherwise inaccessible tr ...
of a cryptocurrency called IQ to encourage generating information. The IQ tokens are intended to be exchangeable for
Bitcoin
Bitcoin (abbreviation: BTC; Currency symbol, sign: ₿) is the first Decentralized application, decentralized cryptocurrency. Based on a free-market ideology, bitcoin was invented in 2008 when an unknown entity published a white paper under ...
.
One of the goals of the company is to stop certain countries from
blocking the content, by the integration of the blockchain model.
The goal is that once Everipedia is decentralized and hosted on the EOSIO platform, countries such as
Turkey
Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...
and
Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...
that
block Wikipedia will no longer be able to block it, via Everipedia's fork.
Mike Novogratz, CEO of Galaxy Investment LP, a cryptocurrency investment firm, and Block.one led a group of institutions that invested $30 million in Everipedia on February 8, 2018. Novogratz also funds EOSIO Ecosystem, a $325-million joint venture between his Galaxy Digital LP and Block.one.
References
External links
*
{{Cryptocurrencies, state=expanded
Cryptocurrency projects
Offshore companies of the Cayman Islands
2017 software
Blockchains
Ethereum tokens