Microsoft Windows was created to be a graphic user interface for computers… it allowed for people to click and drag icons around rather than type command lines of code to do the same actions. It made using a computer easier for the masses.
EOS is a crypto that is essentially being built to be like Windows for the blockchain. Right now, blockchain requires a lot of programming knowledge in order to create products, functions, and distributed applications (DAPPs). My understanding is that EOS’s aim is to make that process more user friendly for the masses in the same manner as Windows.
EOS is unique in that its ICO phase is a year long (opposed to the normal 4-6 weeks that most ICO phases run). EOS launched their ICO in June. Rather than wait for the end of the ICO phase like other projects, the EOS token is tradable on a number of exchanges already (Bitfinex, Binance, etc…), even while the ICO continues. I had been hoping to wait until EOS got to $10 so that I could leave my investment in ETH to capture more of the impending gains during the next few weeks for ETH, but EOS jumped up 40% to around $10 in the last 24hrs or so I think it might be time to pick up a bit. There’s no real reason for me sticking to that $10 number, just my own OCD. lol
The other reason to pick some up now while it’s fairly cheap is that if you grab them and stash them for now, then decide to buy more before the June launch, you can use your existing ones and dollar cost averaging to bring down the buy price of the new batch that you purchase.
It has been branded as an ‘Ethereum Killer’, a term that I personally hate, but simply because it has been said, it means that it is something I can’t outright ignore. There are people who hope it is an Ethereum Killer (I don’t think it is because ETH is decentralized and EOS is not, but it in my mind, it has the potential to do some serious damage to the price of ETH.)
IF EOS is going to steal market share from ETH, it might be better to move out of ETH prior to the launch of the EOS platform. It is my belief that ETH is a great investment until the middle of May, at which point, I will likely shift a good portion of my ETH holdings into something else.
I see a few possible scenarios as we get close to EOS launching:
- ETH starts bleeding as people start moving investment funds to EOS before the platform launch in June, EOS rises quickly.
- ETH starts bleeding, EOS stumbles out of the gate, both drop or stay low.
- ETH experiences a temporary drop as money goes to EOS, but if EOS launches poorly, money will go back to ETH.
In any scenario, I see ETH dropping some value and to be safe, it will definitely be worth paying attention during the month of May (it might be a good time to buy some ETH if you have cash, but we won’t know until closer to that time). Because of this, it might also be wise to use BTC to buy EOS rather than ETH, because if you’re using an ETH/EOS pairing for your trading, and option #2 from above happens, you’re burned on both ends. By using a BTC/EOS trading pair, it might be a way to slow or stop the bleeding if it happens, because when you trade out of EOS, you’d be trading into BTC.
If EOS is all they’re claiming it to be, it should have the potential to rise to many hundreds of dollars per token. For the millions of new investors coming into the cryptosphere in 2018, many will look at ETH and be frustrated that they missed out on buying into it at low prices. EOS then becomes an attractive alternative for those new people who will quite likely be willing to risk some money on an unproven project simply because of the low entry price and the potential for massive growth.
As for the project itself, one of the creators, Dan Larimer, has two successful projects behind him already (Steem, and Bitshares). They just launched their latest project milestone test release. Detractors say Dan has a habit of abandoning projects. Either side may have a point, but for me, him having two working projects behind him means I’m willing to take the risk. As mentioned above, EOS is centralized, which means subject to potential attack, but again, it is a risk I am personally willing to take.
At any rate, I don’t think going super deep on EOS is necessary just yet, but picking up some in order to hold them for a few months might present you with some great returns in 5-7 months. And for those new to crypto, it might be worth spending a good chunk to buy it cheap to 'catch up' a bit and build a better financial base in your portfolio for your future trades.
I’m not giving investment advice, rather I am telling you my thought process, and what I believe may happen with these cryptos.