EOS Network Foundation rebrands EOSIO protocol as Antelope

The hard fork of the code of the EOSIO blockchain is scheduled for next month and a public release of the Antelope Github repository has been shared together with a new project website.

EOS, Telos, WAX, and UX Network have come together earlier this year to gain control over the development of the EOSIO protocol core code that underpins each of these blockchains. Part of their alliance, the coalition will lead the devotement of community-run blockchain protocol Antelope.

Collectively, the coalition members will share Antelope’s underlying blockchain codebase as well as a development treasury to improve upon the core protocol that each of the public networks share.

All four EOSIO protocol-based blockchains have their own focus areas and are set to compete in various arenas. However, the group as a whole focuses on the areas where the chains overlap, and incentives are positioned to accelerate the development of the core protocol.

“The release of Antelope is the culmination of an historic effort undertaken by some of the most talented developers in blockchain,” said Yves La Rose, CEO and Executive Director, EOS Network Foundation. “We are building upon over four years of battle-hardened code, and the cumulative knowledge of four L1 chains leveraging each other’s strengths, all united behind the Antelope protocol. At the EOS Network Foundation, we’re committed to exemplifying the best that Antelope has to offer by making EOS the most powerful and usable platform for building next-generation web3 products and services.”

Douglas Horn, Telos Chief Architect added: “Antelope is a protocol built by its users, for its users. Together we’ll launch Antelope as the most user-friendly, stable and secure protocol for building new chains that are infinitely flexible and constantly upgradeable. The future is multi-chain and Antelope is poised to be an undisputed leader in web3 and blockchain technology. The partnership with EOS, WAX and UX networks represents a real alignment of incentives with game-changing benefits to Telos and all the Antelope chains.”

The development comes nearly two years after Block.one decided to pivot away from EOSIO blockchain, saying it is no place for dApps with commercial-scale aspirations. At the time, EOS’ network was under pressure and entered congestion mode, which limited the number of transactions a user could submit.

The initial set of EOS development included the launch of Antelope such as API improvements, history pruning, and enhanced cryptographic functions to improve the performance for operating EVM runtimes within Antelope smart contracts. Several critical RFPs have been proposed by the Antelope Coalition for enhancing the protocol including proposals for faster finality, SDKs, and P2P code improvements.

In addition, the coalition is backing UX Network to deploy its Trustless Inter-Blockchain Communication (IBC) system that will enable Trustless IBC between participating Antelope-based blockchains.

While technical improvements will be the initial focus, attention will then turn to building out the broader Antelope ecosystem. Its open framework can be utilized by anyone who wishes to create dApps and web3 services that are anchored by a low-fee, high throughput blockchain.

Guillaume Babin-Tremblay, Architect and Lead Developer of UX Network added: “Deploying code to provide Trustless Inter-Blockchain Communication on a flexible, secure, and scalable protocol like Antelope, is right where we want to be. The persistent leadership and strong engineering team of the EOS Network Foundation, combined with innovations in governance and gaming from Telos and WAX, aligns with the interests of UX Network stakeholders, and makes the Antelope Coalition a force to be reckoned with.”

“As a web3 leader for gaming and NFT’s, WAX has been pushing the limits of the EOSIO protocol for some time,” said Lukas Sliwka, Chief Technology Officer of WAX. “We are very excited for the community-led release of Antelope, and I look forward to contributing to the further evolution of scalability and security that the Antelope framework represents. Our work with the EOS Network Foundation is a critical component for continued growth of the WAX ecosystem and our business.”