LONDON (Bywire News) - These are heady days for the EOS ecosystem it would seem. Whether its recognition grants from the EOS Network Foundation (ENF), fractal governance from Eden or quadratic funding from Pomelo, the building blocks have been cementing into place – one by one – block by block – and just like a new home, EOS once more appears to be set for an exciting future. As Helios makes its bow, the EOS community looks set to finally have all the ingredients it said were necessary for success. Perhaps all but one.
Founded by one of the creators of B1 and armed with 45 million EOS (seven-year vest) from his old friends at B1, Helios chief Brock Pierce aims to bring high finance into the EOS ecosystem. From venture capital to impact investment, institutional grade financial products, (whispers of an EOS ETF are turning into titanic screams), live events and much more, Helios promises to ‘unleash massive potential within the EOS ecosystem’.
In a blog post Helios say: “Already, the EOS community is uniting around several ground-breaking projects in a heroic push to advance its position as a battle-hardened, enterprise-grade blockchain, strongly positioned to navigate the shifting regulatory landscape, and provide a foundational layer for Web 3.0.”
Helios new branding reflects its ambitions. The name itself, Helios, evokes the Greek God and its logo follows through with the same theme – a vivid golden spiral which “invokes the symbol of the triple spiral, or triskelion, merging spirit, energy, and matter, into a unified whole.”
The logo is designed to be rendered in either super nova orange or black and white and is, they say, designed to evoke unity and interconnectedness. A not too subtle nod to the EOS community’s previous, past and or present ‘situation’ involving B1, the ENF and Brock Pierce.
“Its fiery glow,” they say in their blog, “encircles a protective inner space that provides for the emergence of resilient collaboration and sustained development for the mutual flourishing of all.”
Through the mist of the grandiose and ambitious claims lay two important commitments, and both will be crucial if EOS is to fulfil its potential: 1. Sustained development and funding/investment in projects to generate a return, and 2. Leadership and incubation from a community. Both have been lacking and both are desperately needed, now more than ever. This is so important because Helios is clearly attempting to deal with both the today, and also building the foundations for tomorrow.
Helios, well-resourced and staffed, strides into the crypto arena at a pivotal time for the EOS community. On the one hand the recent sentiment has been hugely positive, and this has grown interest in the network which earlier in the year was being written off by many. On the other hand, divisions between B1 and the BPs regarding the ownership of unvested tokens, had looked to be resolved this week, until negotiations broke down again yesterday, we believe.
Helios has found itself at the centre of controversy as many have questioned whether B1 had the right to agree to transfer those 45 million EOS. However, with rumours suggesting the two sides are getting very close to an agreement, Brock Pierce and Helios will hope they can move forward into a more prosperous future. Brock it would seem, certainly has, and Helios promises yet more announcements on December 7th. One can only wonder how they could top a “protective inner space that provides for the emergence of resilient collaboration”.
One thing’s for sure, with the ENF, Pomelo, Eden, Bullish and now Helios, all the necessary ingredients are coming together to make EOS one of the most exciting places to be in the blockchain world. Even so, the EOS community is used to big promises, and not such big follow throughs. Therefore, they will be looking on keenly to see if now – finally – principles, morality, and a sincere desire to build a better world, is in fact what motivates those who claim it does. Because all too often, the centralisation of capital continues, the rich get richer, the poor get poorer. The proof will be in the pudding, but the right ingredients have been chosen, and the cooks are great, so now we wait and see.
Crypto, blockchain, technology, these tools can set us free or contain us forever. Brock, Yves, Dan, Brendan; make sure you provide us the tools to set us free, because that is all we actually care about. The rest is superfluous nonsense, as a wise man once said: “no more politics, let’s just build”.
(Writing by Tom Cropper and Michael O’Sullivan, editing by Michael O'Sullivan)