EOS is a blockchain-based, decentralized platform perfect for developing, hosting, and running decentralized applications (dApps). This high-performing blockchain ecosystem offers seamless, secure, and cost-effective commercial-grade dApps. Known worldwide as Ethereum’s direct competitor, sometimes even addressed as an “Ethereum killer,” it is built for both private and public use cases. The EOS mainnet works on three main determinants:
- EOS.IO
- EOS Blockchain
- EOS Tokens
EOS.IO is the fundamental software—more like an operating system—that drives and maintains the EOS blockchain network. Moreover, it provides the developers with the right tools to streamline dApp development. EOS Blockchain is run by the Delegated Proof-of-Work (DPoS) consensus mechanism that hosts and governs dApps. EOS Token is the underlying currency of the EOS mainnet and is responsible for economic activities, governance, and staking on the blockchain.
Connecting your EOS Address to ZenLedger For Your Crypto Tax Forms
- To import your EOS transactions into ZenLedger for your crypto tax forms, all we need is your public address.
- Select the proper blockchain or wallet from the dropdown list.
- Paste your address into the address field in ZenLedger.
- Select if the wallet is based in the USA or not.
- Then hit the ADD COIN button.
How Does EOS Mainnet Work?
EOS blockchain is laser-focused on solving the core problem many blockchains face: scalability. To solve this problem, it uses DPoS, the brainchild of Dan Larimer, CTO of EOS and founder of Steem (a blockchain-based publishing platform), and Bitshares (a crypto exchange). DPoS was piloted on Steem and Bitchares before it became a part of the EOS ecosystem.
However, before we discuss the DPoS in detail, we have to understand the concept of “Block Producers” first. In any PoS-based blockchain network, validators or stakers play an integral part as they are at the helm of producing blocks and securing the network. On the EOS network, they are called block producers, who function as the custodians of the network and are selected by the voting process of the community. The top 21 block producers selected by the voting process are called Delegates and they validate all the transactions on the blockchain, create blocks, run processes for smart contracts, and safeguard the network.
What do Block Producers do?
Block producers are in charge of securing and proper functioning of the network by staking their EOS tokens. However, if they have malicious intentions towards the network, they tend to lose their stake and alternative producers take their place. The community selects a total of 84 alternative blocks produced via voting and they are on standby. If delegates fail to create blocks due to machine failure, these alternative blocks take over.
Block producers also use the Asynchronous Byzantine Fault Tolerance (ABFT) algorithm, which functions as a secondary resource for the EOS consensus algorithm for building blocks, achieving finality, and a single source of truth. The DPoS and ABFT facilitate faster block creation and transaction output. As a result, the EOS mainnet has achieved a whopping 4,000 transactions per second. However, with the EOSIO 1.0, the network can currently handle up to 10,000 transactions per second. With further technological innovations, system efficiency and transaction output are bound to improve.
Another feature that differentiates the EOS blockchain from other networks is that there are no transaction fees when using a dApp or interacting with a smart contract. It is possible because developers pre-pay from their stakes while deploying a smart contract on the network.
On the EOS blockchain, developers stake their EOS tokens to secure resources for their dApp. There are three main resources developers use on EOS:
- CPU: The quantity of CPU time required to process transactions
- NET: Network bandwidth needed for transactions.
- RAM: Leveraged by smart contacts to stack data on the network
How Is EOS Different?
EOS is viewed as Ethereum’s direct competition and its ambition is to become bigger, better, and faster than Ethereum. While Ethereum can handle approximately 30 transactions per second, EOS aims for millions of transactions per second. However, this goal is yet to be achieved.
The EOS architecture allows fast and cheap transactions all while hosting and running smart contracts. EOS’ block generation time is half a second which is lightning fast against other blockchain platforms that take 2-10 minutes to generate a block.
Smart contracts are written in C++ with a wide range of software development kits (SDKs) and tools provided by the EOSIO library. These tools and SDKs allow developers to launch their dApp seamlessly. Here’s a quick synopsis of the EOS Network.
How to Buy EOS?
Buying EOS is quite simple. Here’s how you do it:
Open an online account: The easiest way to buy EOS is to open an online account with a crypto exchange. The exchange will help you buy or sell your tokens. EOS is the 16th largest cryptocurrency so you’ll have a few different choices when choosing a broker.
Buy a Wallet: After choosing a broker, it is a good idea to buy a private wallet to store your tokens. There are two types of wallets: Hardware and Software. Hardware wallets store your coins offline as they are physical devices while software wallets are applications that are connected to the internet. Software wallets are free but don’t offer top-notch security, hardware wallets do.
Make your Purchase: When you’ve opened your online account and set up your wallet, buy EOS. Search for your wallet address and transfer your coins to keep them safe.
Final Thoughts
EOS is a robust and at the same time highly flexible blockchain. Here, developers can easily upgrade smart contracts and enhance their scope and functionality. In the coming years, EOS is poised for explosive growth because it is one of the most advanced public blockchain networks in the market today.