Monthly conference calls with EOS Block Producers (BPs) to establish regular communication between the top 30 EOS BPs and the EOS Network Foundation (ENF) to promote communication between network operators and custodians Open dialogue and support the collaborative development of the EOS ecosystem.

Conference overview

The meeting starts on November 1, 2023 at 1:00 UTC. Sixteen of the nodes participated in the call, and a total of 27 people participated in the discussion. The Interprefy tool was used for simultaneous translation during the conference call to facilitate real-time dissemination of information across multiple languages.

The meeting was moderated by Beatrice Wang, Community Manager of the EOS Network Foundation, who kicked off the meeting by welcoming the attendees and providing a brief overview of the topics to be discussed.

ENF Founder and CEO Yves La Rose began by providing an update on ENF’s recent restructuring.

Refocusing and changing teams

ENF has optimized its operations based on network demand and market conditions. This optimization effort is focused on maintaining critical engineering work for the protocol and EOS EVM while aligning with ENF’s core goals.

The reorganization saw ENF end its funding framework and reallocate business development functions to EOS Labs. Among other changes, the reorganization resulted in nine layoffs across various departments, with the operations team being particularly affected.

The decision to lay off staff was difficult, but necessary for the sustainability of the EOS network. We must acknowledge that those leaving have contributed a lot and provided valuable insights and skills.

Looking ahead, ENF will focus on fostering collaboration within the EOS ecosystem and ensuring adaptability to meet the changing needs of the network. Yves expressed his gratitude to the community for their support and understanding as ENF continues to execute its strategic vision for the EOS network.

Ongoing audit review: progress and ongoing output

In pursuit of maximum transparency and accountability, Yves highlighted the EOS Network Foundation’s (ENF) commitment to having its financial statements audited by a reputable accounting firm, stressing that this is the highest standard of financial due diligence.

ENF has a stable relationship with Grant Thornton, an auditing firm. The firm has been engaged in compilation and review engagements. However, obtaining a full financial statement audit is difficult in the blockchain industry, even more so after the collapse of FTX. As a result, Grant Thornton did not agree to conduct such an audit for ENF. This reflects widespread concerns about the risks and responsibilities of detailed financial audits in the current environment.

Yves explained that a full audit provides an exhaustive assessment of an organization’s financial controls and transaction testing. Although not mandatory, ENF advocates for such an audit to confirm the integrity of its operations.

Yves had discussions with several firms including PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC). PwC rejected the proposal due to ENF’s lack of specific control systems like Fireblocks from the outset of its financial transactions, although they were open to the possibility in the future, provided ENF first obtained an initial audit elsewhere. ENF has implemented Fireblocks’ internal controls, but the full work has not been in place since ENF was founded. Using Fireblocks from day one is an almost impossible standard for a startup to achieve. Another firm was initially involved in the full audit, but later withdrew citing a conflict with another client. Further investigation of smaller firms revealed their uncertainty in auditing such a unique entity as ENF. To date, ENF has worked with 9 different firms to secure a full financial statement audit.

If a full audit cannot be performed within a reasonable time, ENF's interim course of action is to proceed with the compilation and review work. This approach is in stark contrast to the preferred goal of a comprehensive full financial statement audit. ENF is actively seeking recommendations for a firm that is proficient in blockchain technology and able to navigate ENF's complex multi-jurisdictional operations to conduct a full financial statement audit.

Investment Update: ENV and Upland Partnership

Yves said that EOS Network Ventures (ENV) has invested $1.5 million in Upland as part of its $7 million Series A financing. This investment is in line with ENV's mission to leverage Upland's community of more than 3 million accounts to drive the development of GameFi and the metaverse industry on EOS. ENV aims to leverage Upland's digital economy and strong third-party developer ecosystem to create added value for the EOS blockchain.

Upland has been using EOS due to its efficiency, which allows it to mint 80 NFTs per second.

Discussion on enabling BLS host functionality

Regarding the possibility of activating the BLS (Boneh-Lynn-Shacham) host functionality after the launch of Leap 5, attendees noted that the BLS host functionality is a disruptive change and therefore requires a hard fork, rather than a non-consensus upgrade or soft fork currently being suggested by EOS engineers and ENF leadership.

Yves spoke about the magnitude of the move, highlighting that more than 180 exchanges would need to coordinate the upgrade, explaining that this would be a complex and onerous task for all involved.

He reasons that the costs and operational hurdles associated with the upgrade fail to gain acceptance among many external stakeholders, which in turn could cause them to become disconnected from the network. Yves believes that current market conditions are exacerbating this dislocation, with the potential to adversely affect the entire EOS ecosystem.

Based on these drawbacks, Yves said that ENF’s considered position is to recommend not activating the BLS host function at present, but to wait and activate BLS when upgrading to Leap 6, which is planned for the second half of 2024. The Leap 6 upgrade includes some additional features that require a hard fork of the protocol, such as instant finality, which itself is achieved through major improvements to EOS’s current consensus mechanism.

While highlighting the ENF’s stance, Yves also stressed that the final decision lies with the block producers (BPs). He noted that despite ENF’s reservations, it will support the decision of the BPs and provide the necessary assistance if they choose to initiate. Yves further clarified that coordinating the upgrade is not a challenge for ENF, but a burden on all external parties that rely on continuous synchronization with EOS, which is known to have reached nearly 2,000 days of continuous uptime. The meeting further reiterated that the role of ENF is not to issue orders, but to support the network block producers in reaching consensus.

EOS Labs Latest Developments

Since EOS Labs started operating two months ago, the number of ecosystem projects has increased significantly from 107 to 128. A total of 7 projects have generated investment reports, up from 4 previously, with three new reports submitted to ENV in the past month.

Additionally, EOS Labs has connected with nine exchanges that have expressed support for the EOS ecosystem and identified four regional stablecoin projects.

Starting in November, EOS Labs plans to work with certain projects to stimulate activity within the EOS EVM ecosystem. Currently, the focus is on more than 20 projects, including projects that EOS Labs has invested in, plans to invest in, or is working with. These operations will last for several months and will be arranged according to the progress of each participating company.

In terms of staffing, EOS Labs has four full-time staff members and part-time community workers. Despite the limited manpower, there are no plans to expand the team for the time being given the current market conditions.

In terms of budget, EOS Labs receives more than 470,000 EOS per month, and the operating budget is still funded by ENF. Excluding internal team expenses, most of the funds are used to support ecosystem projects, including joint marketing programs and providing initial liquidity assistance to projects. However, the liquidity support capacity is subject to certain limitations, and new strategies need to be discussed.

EOS Labs is also responsible for resolving outstanding amounts related to Pomelo/Grant fees and will contact relevant parties to discuss a resolution.

Regarding the Telegram applets and bots mentioned last month, EOS Labs plans to introduce some features to the Laps group soon. We are currently working on designing a new protocol to improve the integration and signing process between Telegram and third-party wallets. Thanks to Greymass for supporting these developments.


Block Producer Attendance List

  • GenerateEOS

  • EOS Nation

  • EOSeoul

  • Big.ONE

  • StartEOS

  • Blockpool

  • EOS SG

  • EOSUSA

  • EOSlambdacom

  • EOSphere

  • EOSSupport

  • Greymass

  • Detroit Ledger Technology

  • Cryptolions

  • That's LaoMao

  • EOS Asia

About EOS Network

The EOS network is a paradigm of the blockchain 3.0 era, powered by EOS VM. EOS VM is a low-latency, high-performance and scalable WebAssembly engine that enables near-invisible deterministic transaction execution. The EOS network is designed for Web3 and is committed to achieving the best Web3 user and developer experience. EOS is the flagship blockchain and financial center of the Antelope protocol, and through the EOS Network Foundation (ENF) as a tool for multi-chain collaboration and the development of public infrastructure products, it further improves the infrastructure and drives the rapid development of EOS.

EOS EVM

EOS EVM is a simulation of Ethereum EVM and resides in EOS smart contracts. EOS EVM will provide the same functionality as other EVMs in the field, but with unparalleled speed, performance, and compatibility advantages. EOS EVM connects the EOS ecosystem with the Ethereum ecosystem, allowing developers to deploy a large number of Solidity-based digital assets and innovative dApps on EOS. Developers can use EOS EVM to take advantage of Ethereum's battle-tested open source code, tools, libraries, and SDKs while taking advantage of EOS's superior performance.

About the EOS Network Foundation

The EOS Network Foundation (ENF) was created to create a prosperous, decentralized future for the EOS ecosystem. ENF is ushering in a new round of Web3 change by encouraging active participation from key stakeholders in the EOS ecosystem, supporting community projects, providing ecosystem funding, and supporting the construction of an open technology ecosystem. As the center of the EOS network and a leading open source platform, ENF was founded in 2021 and has a stable set of frameworks, tools, and blockchain deployment libraries. Together, we have achieved innovation in community building and are committed to creating a stronger future for all.