EOS, block.one, Dan Larimer, and the EOS ICO

EOS is software written by block.one (Dan Larimer and team) as a platform upon which high-performant decentralized applications can be built.

With the EOS "ICO" just starting, you may have some questions about the technology and company behind the project, block.one. I hope to help clarify, from my understanding, some further questions that may have risen.

What is EOS?

EOS is a highly scalable software that acts as a blockchain operating system which will enable the rapid creation of decentralized applications and include certain elements that will be useful and may be shared among Dapps:

• Accounts
• Authentication
• Databases
• Asynchronous communication
• Scheduling of applications among many CPU cores / clusters

EOS allows for the improved user experience that you find on steemit (no user fees, normal account names, etc.), allowing for anyone to use and benefit from apps built on the blockchain.

The authors of the EOS software, block.one, have left the abbreviation "EOS" open for interpretation and don’t want to formally define it. Here are a few community suggestions:

• Ethereum on steroids
• Electronic operating system
• Evolution of synchronicity
• End of state / enemy of the state
• Enterprise operating system
• Eos (Greek god)

EOS Logo

The EOS logo is a Chestahedron shape.

Who is Dan Larimer?

Dan Larimer has helped create BitShares, Steem, and is now working on EOS, a decentralized operating system upon which high performant smart contracts or decentralized apps (Dapps) can be built. Dan hopes to help people find free market solutions to secure life, liberty, and property since discovering Bitcoin in 2009 by creating "markets, insurance, mutural-aid societies, and justice systems that empower our community to disempower government", potentially on EOS.

Who is block.one?

block.one is the team who is creating the EOS software. They are a company who will provide services to businesses wishing to build blockchain applications and other technology most likely on top of EOS.

block.one will not be participating in the token distribution as a company and there won't be share buybacks. This will be audited by a third party and released on eos.io.

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What am I buying?

Some people have questioned the disclaimers in the EOS FAQ regarding the Ethereum ERC-20 smart contract. It states that block.one is not launching the EOS software and the tokens have no uses, purposes, or functionality.

So, what am I buying?

You’re buying an IOU for the EOS software, which will reference the ERC-20 tokens to distribute the actual EOS tokens when the software is launched. As I understand it, this is mostly to cover the author company from any potential legal ramifications. Dan answered the following question in his talk at the Texas Bitcoin Conference, 2015 (29 minute mark):

Question

[relevant to Bitshares], Where in the SEC grey zone do these crowdfunding efforts fall when funding such decentralized entities?

Answer

Everything is non-binding. We accepted them as gifts with no strings attached (with a suggested accounting mechanism). If you think we’re a good cause, we’re going to build something that you may want to invest in.

We have separated the creations and publishing of the software from the deployment and usage of the software. The reality is, anyone can clone your coin and reallocate the shares how they want. It’s all about social consensus and what the market will accept and the network effect.

All of our stuff is given away for free.

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While I didn’t participate in the Bitshare or Steem ICO, I’m going to interpret his answer similarly with EOS. The ERC-20 smart contract will provide a fair way to create the tokens over a long period of time (so more people can be involved), based on demand. They will be tradable after each window closes as an ERC-20 token. After the ICO is over, they will be frozen and then referenced for EOS distribution once launched.

You can participate in the Ethereum ERC-20 smart contract by following the instructions on eos.io, @thimom's or @dawidrams’s post (note a minimum of 0.01 ETH is required for the smart contract).

I hope this offered value and you're excited to see what the future of EOS holds as a platform for making decentralized applications akin to steemit.