The basis of EOS is the EOS.IO software, which provides a blockchain architecture. Although there are other blockchain architectures available, EOS.IO is designed with both horizontal and vertical scaling for decentralized applications in mind. To achieve that goal, the team created a construct that resembles an operating system and lets developers build applications.

Using the EOS.IO software, developers can get an account, use authentication, access databases, schedule applications, and use asynchronous communication across multiple CPU clusters or cores. The blockchain architecture behind EOS.IO can be scaled to handle millions of transactions each second without user fees. It also makes it simple and fast for developers to deploy decentralized applications. The team considers the software to be the most powerful infrastructure designed for decentralized applications.

Who Is Behind EOS.IO?

The EOS.IO software is being built by block.one, which is a Cayman Islands exempted company. It has advisors and employees around the world and focuses on blockchain software development, along with other business-grade tech solutions.

What Are the Key Traits of EOS.IO?

The most important parts of the EOS.IO software are its scalability, flexibility, and usability. In terms of scalability, the infrastructure supports thousands of DApps on the commercial scale, all with parallel execution and asynchronous communication. It also separates execution and authentication. To maximize flexibility, EOS.IO can freeze and then fix broken applications and has generalized role-based permissions. There is also web assembly.

Finally, to make the interface usable for developers, there is a useful web toolkit for developing the interface. Additionally, there are self-describing database and declarative permission schemes and self-describing interfaces.

What Other Advantages Does EOS.IO Have?

The operating system behind EOS.IO will be hosted via multiple servers, which are also block producers. Those servers receive EOS as an incentive for hosting applications. The applications use common functions, like user interfaces, backend management, and user/password functionality, which allows for shared libraries or frameworks and faster development. The applications created on EOS.IO will appear just like any centralized application to an end user while providing all the benefits of decentralization.

Many compare EOS.IO to Ethereum, as this is currently the main competitor with a similar blockchain platform for decentralized apps. Most agree that Ethereum is not user-friendly when it comes to blockchain interactions, something that EOS.IO will improve upon. Additionally, Ethereum charges transaction fees, but EOS.IO will not, something that should appeal to users.

What Are DPOS and TaPos?

A DPOS, or delegated proof of stake, consensus algorithm works by producing blocks at three-second intervals. One producer can make the block at each time, and if it isn’t produced, it gets skipped. The rounds of producers include 21 and selections shuffled randomly. Because the block producers cooperate instead of competing when producing blocks, there are no forks and the consensus goes to the longest chain.

TaPos, or transaction proof of stake, means that every transaction must include a hash from a recent block header. That prevents transactions being replayed on forks without the referenced blocks. It also shows which fork the user and stake are on.

What Should You Know About EOS and the Token Distribution?

At the time of the writing, the EOS token distribution was in period 223 of 350, with 744 million EOS of 1 billion distributed. The current distribution was marked as 2 million, the equivalent to 3,155 ETH. Overall, the distribution will last 341 days, a period that is designed to give everyone plenty of time to research the project and community and still be able to participate.

The first distribution period lasted from June 26 to July 1, 2017, during which 200 million EOS, or 20 percent of the tokens, were distributed. Starting on July 1, 350 consecutive 23-hour periods began, with 2 million EOS tokens distributed during each, for a total of 700 million tokens. This accounts for 70 percent of the tokens. The final 10 percent, or 100 million EOS, are reserved for block.one, and will not be transferred or traded within the Ethereum network.

To make sure that the token distribution is fair and inclusive, there is not a predetermined price for the EOS token. Instead, its price will be set based on market demand. The team behind EOS.IO believes that this method replicates mining without giving large purchasers an unfair advantage. In other words, the amount of the 2 million EOS allocated to each 23-hour period will be divided proportionally among contributors within that period based on the amount of ETH contributed. To allow for transparency, incoming funds get a receipt via an Ethereum smart contract.

Following the final token distribution period on June 1, 2018, the EOS tokens will become nontransferable along the Ethereum blockchain within 23 hours.

How to Participate in the EOS Token Distribution

You need an Ethereum-compatible wallet that only you have the private keys to or an application of the same nature. You need the private key to use the smart contract functions. Note that the minimum contribution to participate is 0.01 ETH. U.S. citizens and residents cannot buy EOS tokens because of additional regulations.

How Are EOS Tokens Used?

There is a DPOS consensus mechanism. With this, the holders of EOS tokens get voting rights for the block producers. Those producers are responsible for selecting major events and mining blocks.

Additionally, anyone with an account needs to have EOS tokens to interact and fully use their account. Developers also need the tokens to make sure their decentralized applications are operational. The interesting part of this is that you do not use EOS tokens when you take advantage of the server’s resources; you just have to hold them. Instead, the amount of resources you have access to, such as storage capacity, computation, and bandwidth, is proportional to your EOS tokens staked on an application.

Conclusion

Once launched, EOS.IO can prove very useful, particularly thanks to its scalability. The unique take on a token distribution period that lasts nearly a year will allow more people to get involved in the project and learn about it. However, this long contribution period might delay the launch of the project, allowing other similar projects to beat EOS.IO to the forefront. Assuming that this does not happen, EOS.IO has the potential for great things, as it will be able to provide everything developers need for DApp hosting.