Author: Marco González

Editor: Randall Roland

The EOS Mainnet went live in January 2018. However, its story traces back much further. Delegated Proof of Stake (DPoS) is an idea conceived and developed by Dan Larimer for the Bitshares and Steemit blockchains. These chains were low-budget projects that successfully sustained high-performance and attracted users.

DPoS was generally well received throughout the crypto community. Its underlying philosophy transformed how the world approached blockchain development. The potential for a next-generation blockchain with high speeds and transaction capabilities was simply too promising to ignore.

The early days of the EOS mainnet benefited from a top-five market cap. Unfortunately, development stagnated with user interest to follow.

The first software of the EOS mainnet and sister chains was known as EOSIO. DPoS open source code transformed perceptions about blockchain and what’s possible. Even today, no other blockchain philosophy matches its combination of speed, transaction history, and security.

Unfortunately, a bear market and the outside interests of a primary investor hindered early development. Differing opinions regarding future development further inhibited growth. Subsequently, many dApps, wallets, and features failed to live up to their promises.

Block producers were of little help. They weren’t ever really incentivized to do much more than mine inflation. The corporation entrusted (Block.one) to lead development began focusing on its projects. All the while, billions of dollars in EOS were left to rot.

The mainnet community was always largely composed of developers. EOS is known, and designed as, technology for building elaborate, functional, peer-to-peer applications. It’s highly customizable and relatively easily adapted for sister chains. Connecting between chains has also proven successful; as has bridges across other blockchain protocols.

The desire to develop on EOS persisted through the turmoil. Only funding seemed to be missing. The dreams of developers grew distant. That is, until the end of 2021 when the community bound together to corral block producer interests.

With enough block producers on their side, mainnet developers were able to liberate a fraction of the funds promised during the early days of DAWN. Even this relatively small amount, fueled by pure inspiration, was capable of taking the mainnet to new heights.

The mainnet community is on the precipice of another great revolution in blockchain technology because of the commitment to ensure funding for the betterment of EOS. Mandel (renamed to Antelope) will advance EOSIO as third generation technology. It will serve as the new mainnet, as well as be open for other iterations. There are more quality written material, videos, and social media discussions about Mandel than probably during the prior two years.

The new EOS is made possible by a broad funding distribution. The EOS Network Foundation leads development and funding. Imagine if the ENF were solely governed and operated by the community. This is the hope, but for now, the community must take solace in the foundation's aggressive development and willingness to fund independent projects.

Through its grants and provision of matching funds for Pomelo’s community choice platform, the ENF helped establish a new framework where anyone with the desire can start a project. Funds have never been more available on EOS. It’s not just developers that have access. All efforts helping to build a better EOS can win funding.

So with independent mainnet projects succeeding, and community-approved spending, the ENF can build Mandel within a hospitable ecosystem. Leading the charge of inter-blockchain initiatives are ENF-associated teams known as the EOSIO (now Antelope) Coalition and The Trust Network. Such leadership seems to provide comfort for independent projects with multi-chain interests.

Interest in EOS is growing. Offloading Ethereum is among the strongest motivations for cross-chain development. However, EOS is about more than speed and a transaction facilitator. EOS, especially now under Antelope, offers unparalleled developer freedom and creativity. It’s a blockchain made for developers that are finally coming into their own. Recent advancements have brought users closer to Web3 applications that can rival the usability of the traditional internet.

Since the writing of this article, the EOS Network Foundation renamed Mandel to Antelope. The name Leap v3.1 was chosen for the C++ implementation of the 3rd generation technology.