Could this crypto skyrocket after rebranding?

Back in 2018, EOS (EOS 5.37%) was one of the highest profile cryptos in the world. It had a best-in-class Layer 1 blockchain that promised lightning-fast transaction processing speeds as well as zero fees. The hype around EOS was so great that it raised over $4 billion in one of the largest initial coin offerings (ICOs) in crypto history. But since then, almost nothing has gone right for EOS, and even though it’s still a top 40 crypto by market cap, many people have never heard of it.

Now, however, EOS seems to be attempting a comeback. The crypto world calls it a “rebrand”, and it involves a major effort by EOS to convince developers, users and investors that it is back. It is basically throwing out its old dev team, getting a whole new dev team and planning for a new technical upgrade on September 21st that will prepare it to handle the Web3 future of blockchain development. So is this the start of something new and exciting, or just more hype from a crypto that has already been written off by many?

The art of rebranding crypto

In the technology industry, rebrands, reboots and pivots are nothing new. Even some of the most influential names in the technology world — such as Alphabetthe company formerly known as Google, and Meta platforms, the company formerly known as Facebook — has done them. At best, a rebrand is simply a way to signal to investors that something is changing in the business focus of the company (as in the case of Meta), or that the company wants to be known for more than just one thing (as in the case of Alphabet).

Image source: Getty Images.

But this is the crypto world we’re talking about, and rebrands are a bit riskier here. Just look at what’s happening in the world of algorithmic stablecoins, where the rebranding of Terra is an attempt to convince investors that the whole Terra LUNA meltdown crisis never happened. And that’s why the EOS rebrand is bound to be so controversial. Even the head of the EOS Foundation has referred to EOS as “a failure” and “a terrible investment”. There have been fierce internal battles between the EOS Foundation and its primary developer team, Block.one. And there has been a class action lawsuit filed against EOS related to the ICO back in 2018.

The new EOS

So, obviously, it will take a lot to convince investors that the new rebrand is more than just hype. A big part of this will be cutting all ties with Block.one, which seems to be a big part of all the controversy surrounding EOS. EOS is now turning to Antelope, an open framework for building next-generation Web3 products and services, to rebuild its code base, update the technical capabilities of the blockchain, and regain the trust of the EOS developer community. A goal of the Antelope rebrand will be to convince developers that EOS is a leading blockchain platform for building Web3 products and services. On September 21st, there will be a hard fork of the old EOS blockchain that will finally break all ties to Block.one.

From that date, EOS will make a major push into Web3, which includes entertainment, gaming and the metaverse. That certainly sounds promising, given that no other Layer 1 blockchain has really dominated this Web3 space. Moreover, the choice of Antelope is also encouraging. EOS will gain access to a new development protocol that offers speed, scalability, stability and transparency (due to its open source codebase).

Too little, too late?

The problem is simply that EOS may have squandered its early-mover advantage. Back in 2018, it was one of the best Layer 1 blockchains in the world and seemed destined to be the market leader for years. But now the Layer 1 blockchain market is more crowded: Ethereum has become the well-entrenched leader, with challengers now including the likes of Solana and Avalanche. For now, it may be best to take a wait-and-see approach with EOS as it figures out what to do next.