IOST is a blockchain application platform developed for online service providers, supported by top-tier global investors such as Sequoia and ZhenFund. Since the mainnet launch, IOST has become one of the top four DApp public chain platforms globally, alongside Ethereum, EOS, and Tron.
IOST achieves horizontal scalability and high throughput through its Proof of Believability (PoB) consensus mechanism and second-layer scaling solutions. It provides an effective platform for third-party developers, creators, and businesses to realize value through community-owned networks. IOST is more decentralized than EOS, which uses the Delegated Proof of Stake (DPoS) mechanism, and more scalable than the Ethereum smart contract platform.

IOST Team

The development of the IOST project is carried out by the Internet of Services Foundation (IoSF), a non-profit organization based in Singapore. The IOST team primarily consists of researchers specializing in blockchain and distributed technologies, with most members having graduated from prestigious universities like Princeton, Stanford, MIT, Tsinghua, and Peking University. They have over three years of experience in blockchain-related research. IOST currently operates offices in Silicon Valley, New York, Singapore, Seoul, Tokyo, and Berlin.

IOST Project Advantages

IOST is a blockchain platform designed for decentralized applications. For too long, centralized platforms have dominated, leading people to forget that there is a better way to build internet services. IOST offers an effective way to develop community-owned networks, providing a platform for third-party developers, creators, and businesses to realize value. IOSTs solution addresses the scalability trilemma directly rather than avoiding it by sacrificing censorship resistance. While exploring various scalability solutions, IOST maintains its censorship resistance, openness, and resilience against malicious attacks. IOST is more decentralized than EOS and more scalable than Ethereum.
IOST features five key characteristics:
1. Censorship Resistance: IOST enables developers to create censorship-resistant applications and smart contracts. When entering into a smart contract with other users, it is crucial to know that the rules and records of the smart contract cannot be tampered with to your detriment.
2. Algorithmic Election Committee: The IOST blockchain selects the validation committee algorithmically based on contributions to the community and token holdings, rather than using an on-chain voting system like many DPoS-based blockchains.
3. Equal Distribution of Economic Incentives: The PoB consensus mechanism has a unique design where Servi self-destructs. This means that after a node validates and produces a block, its Servi balance is automatically reset. As a result, all nodes take turns validating blocks based on their credibility score, ensuring equal distribution of block rewards.
4. Proof of Believability (PoB): IOST’s proprietary consensus mechanism.
5. Scalability: Enhanced through protocol-level and Layer-2 scaling solutions, including state channels, sharding, and sidechains.

Core Technologies of the IOST Project

PoB Consensus Mechanism:
For IOST, PoB is a branch of the election process. Although EOSs DPoS is relatively centralized, elections do not necessarily imply centralization. In some traditional consensus mechanisms, only one leader has the right to produce data within a given time period, and DPoS is just one solution under the broader umbrella of election-based scalability. We can define decentralization to some extent as the distribution of block producers within a certain time unit. Our current internal test version employs a two-layer qualification model.
The first layer avoids Sybil attacks by using a token-staking plus election approach, meaning nodes eligible for consensus must acquire a portion of token resources. Truly implemented and secure public chains use either a PoW or PoS variant as the only secure blockchain entry mechanism based on computational power or tokens. Any other consensus mechanism would face security issues, such as forgery, centralized submission, whether consensus data can be proven on-chain, and whether new network entrants can participate in consensus. Similarly, PoB is also a branch of PoS, with the first layer of entry based on tokens. To participate in consensus, a node needs to receive a certain amount of token staking votes (currently 2.1 million IOST).
The second layer is the core of PoB, where the block-producing nodes are truly selected. Here, we aim to achieve two goals: mandatory rapid changes in block producers to enhance decentralization, and encouraging nodes to contribute to the network while competing with each other. Each credible node has a score called Servi, which can only be accumulated through network behaviors like transaction verification and bundling. Authorized token quantities are converted into Servi at a proportional rate during each time period, and nodes compete to become block producers. Selected nodes need to consume Servi and will receive token incentives from the foundation.
We rotate block-producing nodes frequently, resulting in two outcomes: every block production consumes Servi, giving those who were not selected more Servi and a higher chance of being chosen next time. All nodes must contribute to the network to earn more Servi and have a greater opportunity to receive node rewards. IOSTs PoB consensus mechanism lowers the barrier for becoming a candidate node, allowing more community members to participate in the election. The high-frequency rotation of block producers significantly increases the liquidity of IOSTs block producers, greatly reducing network size and speeding up consensus. IOSTs proprietary PoB consensus mechanism not only enhances the scalability of the IOST blockchain but also achieves a higher degree of decentralization compared to EOSs DPoS mechanism, which relies on a limited number of super nodes and candidate nodes, thereby achieving better community autonomy and higher security.