New BancorX Service Looks to Connect EOS and Ethereum
November 6, 2018 by Ian Edwards
Bancor is connecting Ethereum and EOS, the two largest smart contract platforms, with a new cross-chain liquidity network. Called BancorX, the new service looks to facilitate the creation of the untested “token economy”.
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More Than a Hundred Ethereum and EOS Tokens Supported
The new open-source service, called BancorX, allows users to convert between Ethereum and EOS-based tokens without having to use an exchange. BancorX will be available for use as of November 5th, 2018, per a press release, though it had previously been announced in September.
There are more than 100 ERC20 tokens and at least a dozen EOS-based tokens that are supported by BancorX, most of which are a payment method for decentralized applications, or Dapps. Some of the EOS Dapps supported at launch include Everipedia, BetDice MEET.ONE, eosBLACK, and Chaince.
Partnering With EOS Block Producer, Bancor Foundation Making $10 Million USD Available
To create BancorX, Bancor partnered up with LiquidEOS, an Israeli firm that is currently one of the 21 block producers on the EOS Network. LiquidEOS said in a blog post that conversion transactions with Ethereum take one second, there are no transaction fees for conversions, and there is no risk of any front-running of orders.
Bancor’s non-profit Bprotocol Foundation will also be making available $10 million worth of BNT tokens to support EOS development and token liquidity.
Bancor Looking to Boost Adoption of Smart Contract Platforms
Bancor is hoping that the integration of tokens between the two most-used smart contract platforms will increase user adoption and create new use cases. The firm believes that “[w]ith real blockchain interoperability (between Ethereum and EOS), the possibilities for token-powered applications proliferate dramatically”.
From Bancor’s perspective, BancorX also has the benefit of creating an actual use case for BNT, Bancor’s native token. The co-founder of Bancor, Eyal Hertzog, explained in a statement how BancorX works:
“BancorX is based on the ability to move BNT — Bancor’s Network Token — between blockchains. This cross-chain functionality increases the utility of BNT as an inter-network token, connecting the EOS and Ethereum ecosystems today, and vastly more blockchains in the future.”
Token Economy Idea at the Heart of Bancor’s Vision
Billions of dollars have been raised by EOS and Ethereum through their ICOs, but there is a relative paucity of actual users on the platforms. The State of Dapps lists EOS as having around 14,400 daily users, while Ethereum has about 9,000:
Bancor itself raised more than $150 million by selling BNT tokens in an ICO during July of 2017. Bancor sees a future where any business or organization can issue their own tokens, also known as cryptocurrencies. Bancor’s plan is to facilitate the use of these tokens through services such as BancorX.
The feasibility of such a tokenized economy is controversial, and experts like Cornell computer science professor Emin Gün Sirer have criticized Bancor for solving a problem that doesn’t exist. Economist Nouriel Roubini has made similar statements, arguing that the widespread use of different digital tokens would be inefficient, unworkable, and would take the economy back to the “Stone Age of barter”.
What do you make of BancorX and its cross-chain liquidity network?
Images via The State of the Dapps, Pixabay
