In a sort of nerdy Clash of the Titans, two of the biggest names in Blockchain technology are having a conversation on which of their two systems has better overall usability for transaction numbers.

Buterin opens

The first in the ring was Buterin, who responded to an Ethereum Reddit thread post claiming that EOS was far superior to Ethereum because of the number of transactions and flexibility that Ethereum cannot offer.

The Ethereum cofounder argued that EOS, Larimer’s brain child, while offering large numbers of transactions but through a system that removes the protections of Merkle proofs and makes it impossible for regular users to audit the system unless they plan to personally run a full node.

He also argued that the nature of EOS decentralization through DPOS causes undue reliance on voting, which has proven problematic in the past with low voter turnout and little to no voter incentive.

Lastly, Buterin took issue with EOS fees, since transactions are linked directly to coins held, making it costly for poorer users:

“The poor, who are not interested in putting the entirety of their often very low savings into a funky new crypto asset in order to be able to use a Blockchain.”

Return volley - Larimer responds

Larimer, for his part, addressed the difference with EOS and validation, stating that Ethereum is built more on a system of trust with the block producers, whereas EOS has a faster and more simple sync feature for those who are not producing full nodes, making it easier to validate.

Larimer also dealt with voter turnout, pointing out that measures have been taken to increase voter appearance and participation.

Finally, he addresses fees, noting that those who use the EOS chain generally have tokens beforehand, and that the usage to cost ratio will eventually stabilize because of market forces.

Larimer concludes:

“Once again critiques of DPOS, EOS and STEEM are based upon flawed economic assumptions, misinformation and ignorance/denial of vulnerabilities in their proposed solutions.”

Importance for ICOs

The issue is important because EOS is a means of dealing with some of the apparent weaknesses of Ethereum. Ethereum (per Buterin) is the better system, and he finds weaknesses within the EOS framework. Some of the debate will require widespread implementation in order to determine which system is correct.  

Because of the dependence of ICOs and other Blockchain projects on a platform (currently heavily favoring Ethereum), EOS represents a new system that can allow for features that Ethereum does not. Buterin and Ethereum devotees, however, sees the new system as more flawed than the original.

The future of Blockchain technology and its use in the public sector is up in the air. These two companies are wrestling with each other for who will be the platform of choice as Blockchain continues to increase in popularity and widespread use.