EOS is a decentralized operating system based on the blockchain concept that supports commercial applications by providing functionality to build blockchain technology on its platform. It uses parallel processing and asynchronous communication to enable scalability and has an ownership model that avoids transaction fees. EOS is built on the idea of providing all necessary support to businesses or individuals looking to build blockchain, giving these interested parties access to security, authentication, hosting, and communication, among others. The web toolkit makes interface development simple, thus being an ideal choice for developers. Although the features make it a direct threat to Ethereum, the platform still has some work to complete. Therefore, before analyzing price direction, interested individuals must understand what EOS offers and where it stands in relation to its competitors.
The EOS Ecosystem and Difference
Two central pieces make up the EOS ecosystem, and these are EOS.IO and the platform’s tokens. EOS.IO takes care of managing and controlling the blockchain network while the token is the cryptocurrency for EOS. However, the ecosystem functions differently than other platforms or digital currency options. For example, for developers to be qualified to use the network, they must hold the digital coin. Furthermore, those that hold coins have the option to rent out their bandwidth to other third parties.
The platform uses something called Delegated Proof of Stake (DPOS), which differs from Bitcoin or Ethereum Proof of Work (POW) concept. The original idea of POW is to remove the threat of cyber-attacks, including Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS). Miners of Bitcoin are rewarded for being the first to solve the difficulty of the hashing issue that uses valuable computing resources to validate a block in the system. In the EOS model, producers are chosen based on how much of the coin they hold. This Proof of Stake selects the winner using a deterministic system based on how much wealth they hold. However, transaction times need to be kept low. Therefore, producers lacking participation are removed, and others who have a stake in EOS validate and bid on possible solutions. The person with the solution is then rewarded based on the value of their bet.
Other blockchain networks facilitate decentralized applications. One such blockchain network is Ethereum. However, what makes EOS different is that it focuses on certain aspects that create problems in a blockchain and attempt to resolve issues that generate bottlenecks, thus leading to speed and scalability problems within the blockchain. The growing size of these applications makes the situation worse, as already limited resources are tried up dealing with spamming apps and fake transactions. EOS.IO, however, looks to solve many of these issues by using a different mechanism that claims to handle millions of transactions per minute, versus the three to four that Bitcoin can handle.
The Future of EOS and Price Prediction for 2018
The price of EOS, as with other cryptocurrencies, has been volatile. Many expected the price of EOS to reach the 30-dollar range toward the end of 2018. Despite the volatility in the overall digital currency market during this year, EOS seemed to stay relatively stable around the 15-dollar mark through the beginning to middle of the year. Nevertheless, the coin suffered a drop that lasted through mid-August and has been trading around $5.00 since then. Part of this price reduction seems to be associated with the postponement of its MainNet launch and some network issues that the platform experienced when it went live. Additionally, the decision to freeze some user accounts was viewed negatively by the overall market. The coin seems to have stabilized, and some market experts expect to see a possible bull run soon.
