EOS Blockchain’s EVM launch is an important statement of intent

by Arthur · March 8, 2023

Six years after raising $4.1 billion in an ICO, the EOS blockchain has set its sights on becoming a major player in the Web3 scene with the upcoming launch of the EVM network.

Released on April 14, EVM will combine “the performance of EOS with the familiarity of Ethereum,” according to EOS Network Foundation CEO Yves La Rose.

While EVM may well be a game changer for EOS, enabling developers to create dApps and DeFi applications just as they would on Ethereum, this recent announcement is just the latest in a long line of positive EOS developments dating back until August last year when the price of EOS jumped 17% following a court ruling against former parent Block.one’s proposed settlement.

EOS aims to attract top talent

Now free of Block.one and managed by the non-profit organization ENF, EOS aims to make 2023 its biggest year yet. Yes, bigger even than in 2017, when it became the undisputed bellwether of the ICO scene before everything went south.

Deploying the Ethereum virtual machine will be key to such lofty ambitions. In a recent blog post, EOS called EVM compatibility “essential to the potential of EOS, not only technically, but also from a business perspective. Ultimately, it’s important that we welcome more Solidity developers and users to EOS, and an EVM on EOS is an excellent bridge to do just that.”

Making EOS an attractive environment to build in is one thing, but ENF also aims to force the best developers to the party via its grant program, which pays out payouts from $10,000 to over $50,000 for those who can bring impactful protocols for EOS.

Although over $120 million is currently locked in EOS-based DeFi applications, it is only a fraction of the industry’s total value locked (TVL). Ethereum, for example, dominates with over $28.6 billion; TVL for the entire DeFi space exceeds $48 billion, although it once peaked at around $180 billion at the end of 2021.

The EOS Network Foundation hopes to make EOS the place to be at the forefront of the next DeFi bull run, for users and developers alike. But it will need to back some winners to gain serious traction; Ethereum is practically synonymous with decentralized finance, although the likes of Polygon, Tron, Avalanche, BSC, and Arbitrum have carved away market share.

Fresh EOS products are already shipping. One of them, Antelope, is a community-driven blockchain protocol for creating and deploying next-generation smart contracts and distributed applications. In addition to EOS, it is backed by Telos, WAX and the UX Network, with the coalition committed to providing the project with $8 million in annual funding.

Antelope is seen as the vehicle by which EOS can deliver inter-blockchain communication (IBC), an innovation that will enable cross-chain transfers and horizontal scaling. Antelope IBC debuted on the EOS network in January and can facilitate asset transfers across all Antelope-powered chains.

Against the backdrop of such developments, ENF CEO Yves La Rose was recently named one of CoinTelegraph’s Top 100 Crypto and Blockchain Influencers for 2023, coming in at number 43. If EOS can make good on its roadmap, expect to see him enter the top 10 next year.

Next month, all eyes will be on EOS when EVM goes live. Whatever happens next, it will be a watershed moment for a project that has never been far from the headlines.