Block.one Preps Open Source Blockchain Operating System

Most IT organizations are a long way from deploying applications based on blockchain technologies into a production environment. But many of them are encouraging developers to build prototypes of applications that employ distributed ledgers based on blockchain technologies.

To facilitate those efforts, block.one announced it is developing an open source instance of what it describes as a blockchain operating system dubbed EOS. Company CEO Brendan Blumer says an open source approach will give developers a way to build blockchain applications that are not based on the number of transactions processed using a blockchain cloud service.

As an operating system, Blumer says EOS will include a scripting language, database, asynchronous communications, scheduling and authentication services that will make it possible for developers to create blockchain applications at a much higher level of abstraction. In contrast, Blumer says alternative blockchain approaches such as Ethereum or HyperLedger only provide developers with access to the blockchain database.

“We want to lower the barrier to entry,” says Blumer. “Application developers today are being asked to work in the weeds.”

Unlike existing blockchain implementations, Blumer says EOS will be able to process hundreds of thousands of transactions per second by being able to horizontally scale across multiple systems. In contrast, Blumer says, most existing implementations of blockchain technologies are processing at most tens of transactions per second. That level of scale should drive down the cost of implementing blockchain technologies well under one dollar per transaction, adds Blumer.

Obviously, it’s still early days when it comes to blockchain technologies. But before organizations commit to platforms that can be prohibitively expensive to run at scale on a transaction basis, they might want to consider all their options.