Lumi Wallet Digest on EOS #8: Takeaways from Congestion and Voice.

Lumi Wallet Digest on EOS #8: Takeaways from Congestion and Voice.

Table of Contents

We’ve got two main topics — one a continuing situation and one a promising announcement — that feature active developments in EOS projects and the camaraderie of crypto enthusiasts, poised to break through all boundaries and hardships - that and much more in the last Lumi Wallet EOS Digest about the year 2019.

Bulletin

EOS Go is expanding its presence to China. After two years of publishing all the latest EOS news in English, they decided to reach out to their Chinese user base, so from now on all of their articles will be translated into Chinese and EOS Go will be available on WeChat. EOS Go aims to bridge the gap between Western and Eastern communities, so English articles translated from Chinese are also expected.

Weiss Crypto Ratings, the digital asset rating agency, which regularly ranks the quality of cryptocurrency projects, downgraded EOS’s rating from “B” to “C-”. They stated in a tweet that they have great respect for the work and thinking that went into EOS, but their ratings model is driven by data. They also endorsed Cardano in another tweet, stating that it is “clearly superior to EOS”.

Ubisoft has partnered with Ultra, a blockchain-based network built on EOSIO. The gaming giant announced that it will be working with little-known EOSIO sister chain UOS. UOS will be used by Ubisoft to facilitate in-game asset creation, ownership transfers between players, and payment channels. Ubisoft has its own blockchain division and recently chose 8 blockchain-related companies as part of its startup program.

LiquidApps recently announced three DAPP Network services: LiquidStorage, LiquidHarmony, LiquidSQL. LiquidStorage allows easy decentralized frontends for dApps, LiquidHarmony is a framework for the deployment of contract-consumed services, and LiquidSQL allows dApps to use relational databases in a decentralized manner.

Everipedia announced its first editing challenge with the goal of creating 1,000 new pages in a month. The contest aims to collectively improve the information base of the project. The symbolic rewards for participants vary from 2,500 to 10.000 IQ tokens, the results will be in after December 31, 2019.

KARMA, a social media platform on EOS, decided to move from EOS to WAX. They stated that the EOS mainnet still has some unsolved problems, like high account creation and CPU/Bandwidth costs and a lack of a functioning Worker Proposal System. They claim that one of the reasons behind the switch is a lack of proper response from Block Producers to the EIDOS situation.

BlockBase is continuing its series of Airgrabs. Airgrab #3 will be waiting for signups from December 8 to January 8. Also, BlockBase released a network node software code on Github and their testnet alpha release is planned for January.

Takeaways from Congestion

At the beginning of November, the whole EOS network was tested by a new protocol, namely EIDOS. Basically, it was an airdrop that was giving small bonuses for EOS transactions of any size.  Because of it, users started to lend more staked CPU and prices for CPU allocation rose to previously unseen heights. 

The problem is that users needs to stake some of their own EOS in order to execute transactions, and when the supply is in a normal state and the network is not overloaded, it is fine. But after EIDOS was launched, to get a transaction through, users needed around 30 EOS. And EOS users were accustomed to making free use of computing power, so it caused some understandable discontent. And it brought up old issues between users and Block Producers.

As Sharif Boutkila, the CEO of EOS Dublin said:

 “The actual first fix that the block producer could do is just remove that [80 percent] cap” on REX. ... We have block producers who aren’t actively looking to see how can we fix things on a daily basis. They’re more passive, but that’s just the way it is.”

And it is true, however, the removal of the 80 percent cap is only a temporary solution. What would really lower and normalize CPU staking costs is a systemic solution, such as switching some dapps to the more productive EOSIO 2.0, a new system of CPU allocation or just the eventual loss of interest in said EIDOS.

The community offered some fixes - such as free CPU options for users below 30 EOS, but everyone was waiting for major steps from BP’s and Block.one CTO Dan Larimer. And Larimer delivered an idea a few weeks later.

The baseline idea is to level the cost of the CPU by introducing an ideal algorithm that precisely and predictably determines the total time of CPU in order to lower the initial cost. This would combine it with a system where 100% of CPU is leased. So in the long run, with the gradually increasing supply of CPU compared to that of EOS tokens, the system would provide a CPU market similar to what is currently the case with RAM.

Despite the fact that the congestion and inflation of CPU costs caused a lot of noise within the EOS community, it is not a critical vulnerability, bug, or even a demonstration of a EOSIO weakness per se. On the contrary, this is a needed test for one of the fastest blockchains around at the moment, because it stresses the measures taken to make it even more affordable and advanced. There is no other blockchain that could sustain the amount of operations performed under the EIDOS contract.

However, some dapp developers were not happy with the state of things and threatened to abandon EOS, like EARNBET. And the aforementioned KARMA app even went through with it. The reason behind the frustration is not really EOS itself, but idle BP’s and their lackadaisical response to the situation, rather than the situation itself. 

The response has been pretty quick: Block.one will start participating in EOS governance. The company, which holds 9.5% of EOS, called itself a “small, but significant” holder of EOS. As Block.one stated:

“Block.one will participate publicly in the conversation and share and comment on ideas and proposals that we believe positively improve the governance, performance, and overall competitiveness of the EOS network. Our goal is to highlight improvements and features that we believe uphold the integrity of the network and push these metrics to new heights. Ultimately, we will begin participating in block producer voting to more actively join other EOS token holders in ensuring the EOS network remains as healthy and revolutionary as ever.”

Also, some irresponsible BP’s were voted out of the first 21 after the congestion occurred. All in all, EOS continues to function. Whether the fees are higher or cheaper, governance works and BPs switch, so it is more interesting now to look into the future and get to the second exciting topic of the month:

Voice Release Date Announcement

7 months have passed since the announcement of Voice at B1 in June, and now Block.one has broken their silence and given us a release date for its Beta version: February 14th, 2020. It seems this would be a proper love letter to EOS enthusiasts, who support the developers throughout their journey.

As it is stated in an official announcement of Voice Team:

"Voice won’t become everything it can be without your involvement, scrutiny, and feedback, at every stage of the process. So consider this blog an open invitation. Our latest findings. Our biggest challenges. Stories from Dan and the developers. Regulatory updates and behind-the-scenes peeks. We’re putting it out there, expecting change, so you can join us in walking this road to beta."

It is reported that the testnet is ready, and only regulatory questions might stand in the way of the public beta. And, adding a warm, Christmas-y touch to this story, Vitalik Buterin stated that he signed up for the Voice beta and is excited about what Block.one will have to offer. When business competitors can appreciate the work of each other and show some camaraderie in a tough time, it shows that the crypto space is first and foremost about innovation.

High Stakes

With the growing capabilities and opportunities for the EOS blockchain, some new challenges have also emerged, so the stakes are always high. This year has proved that there is always something to wait and watch out for in EOS. 

So, let's go into the new year and decade rooting for EOS and all the aspiring entrepreneurs out there, and see what the future has in store for us. Because the new year looks pretty bright for crypto, and that means Lumi Wallet’s EOS digest will be busy keeping you informed of all the latest. 

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