Progress Update
According to DappRadar EOS is currently the blockchain that counts with the highest number of users measured by daily usage of decentralized applications. It is remarkable that EOS has achieved higher user numbers than Ethereum which is valued significantly higher by market capitalization. At the end of Q4 2018 there were more than 10 dApps that counted with more than 1,000 daily users and more than 15 dApps with a daily transaction volume of more than 100,000 EOS (representing more than 250,000 USD at the time of writing). Furthermore, several EOS dApps are ranked among the leading decentralized apps on State of the Dapps.
There are 21 block producers (BP) which are responsible for operating and governing the EOS blockchain. At the end of Q4 2018 around one quarter of the EOS tokens has participated in the elections for block producers. At the same time almost half of all EOS tokens participated in staking.
In order to develop the ecosystem, a number of EOS hackathons were held in Q4 2018 in locations such as San Francisco and Cape Town. Serg Metelin, who acts as the Head of Developer Relations of EOS, is committed to build a prosperous developer community for EOS. For this purpose the hackathons are endowed with significant grants for the winners.
Market Sentiment
EOS started the year 2018 with a particularly strong price action compared to the overall cryptocurrency market. This trend reached its peak at the end of April. While EOS was outperforming Ethereum during the months of August and September, this pattern reversed during December 2018. EOS counts with very popular supporters and investors such as Mike Novogratz.
EOS has became the strongest Ethereum contender in the course of 2018. It is the second most valuable smart contract platform behind Ethereum. However, market observers characterize Ethereum and EOS as two smart contract platforms with different approaches. While Ethereum’s top priority is decentralization, EOS is more focussed on scalability. Therefore adoption and use cases for both platforms may be different.
Looking at market capitalization EOS was not ranked among the top 10 cryptocurrencies at the beginning of 2018. However, it started the year 2019 as the fifth most valuable cryptocurrency. In case the platform reaches further traction it is possible that in 2019 EOS will overtake Bitcoin Cash and consolidate as the fourth most valuable cryptocurrency only behind Bitcoin, Ethereum and Ripple.
Community Metrics
EOS counts with a number of popular dApps that run on top of it. Among them are very prominent projects such as Everipedia, an online encyclopedia where anything can be described. The platform launched on EOS in August 2018. These dApps are on one hand leveraging the EOS community and on the other hand contributing to the growth of the EOS ecosystem by onboarding their existing communities to EOS.
Block.one is the company behind EOS responsible for developing the EOS blockchain. The Twitter followers of Block.one peaked in November 2018 at around 192,000 followers. In December the number of followers has slightly declined. Since the beginning of the year 2018 the number of followers has more than tripled.
Comparing the subreddits that are dedicated to a specific cryptocurrency, EOS counts with the sixth most active subreddit after Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple, VeChain and Monero. Furthermore, EOS is the fifth most referenced coin on r/cryptocurrency.
Engagement on r/eos has peaked during June 2018. However, the engagement fell subsequently as it became evident that the crypto winter would last longer than many initially had anticipated and investors realized that the promises of blockchain technology would require more time for realization.
Outlook
The Resource Exchange (REX) is a mechanism designed by Dan Larimer through which EOS holders can obtain network rewards. It is highly anticipated by the community and planned to be released in early 2019.
Besides REX, airdrops are something that token holders can look forward to in 2019. Several projects in the past managed to create excitement among the community. Airdrops are one of the many reasons why it is attractive to hold EOS since token holders are rewarded with coins of new projects on EOS.
Gambling and betting applications were among the best performing use cases for EOS in late 2018. It remains to be seen whether these use cases can get further traction in 2019. In order for EOS to reach a larger, non-technical audience it will be required to further improve the User Experience.
Furthermore, it will be interesting to see how Dan Larimer’s commitment for EOS will evolve in the next months. Dan Larimer, as the inventor of the Proof of Stake consensus mechanism, is one of the most famous faces in blockchain technology. Seeing him leave to focus his attention on other cryptocurrency projects would decrease the faith in the EOS ecosystem substantially.
Disclosure: At PrimeICO we are dedicated to provide leading blockchain intelligence. Our quarterly reports are a tool to cover recent developments in the leading cryptocurrencies. They are issued on a quarterly basis and cover selected cryptocurrencies among the top 30 coins by market cap.
For further quarterly reports for Q4 2018 see:
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