The EOSIO software, which the EOS Network was built upon, was developed by the company Block.one and architected by Daniel Larimer.

In June 2018, the EOS blockchain was launched by a decentralized group of block producers (BPs) who bootstrapped the network based on a token distribution snapshot from Block.one's ICO.

On August 25, 2021 consensus was reached by EOS block producers to fund the EOS Network Foundation (ENF), which was launched by Yves La Rose.

The EOS Network Foundation is a not-for-profit organization that coordinates financial and non-financial support to encourage the growth and development of the EOS Network. The ENF is the hub of the EOS Network, harnessing the power of decentralization as a force for positive global change to chart a coordinated future for EOS.

The EOS Network is a 3rd generation Layer 1 blockchain that is low-latency and highly performant blockchain that liberates developers to align their build with what they imagine—bringing together programmable architectures, versatile blockchain infrastructures, and custom smart contracts. What makes EOS unique is its technological stack and resilient community.

The EOS Network has many communities with vibrant ideas and leadership. Token holders primarily work with developers and other ecosystem leaders to promote growth. The EOS community values transparency, openness, honesty, accountability, liberty, respect, and different core values of a blockchain. EOS is the first blockchain with a community-led foundation and user support. On EOS, token holders elected a foundation to spearhead network growth. During this same period, a group of community members started the EOS live support for users on the network.

EOS Network has 995,528,087 EOS in circulation at the time of writing.

When the network launched, its software developer (Block.one) was allocated 100m EOS tokens locked in a 10 year vesting schedule. In December 2021, the EOS Network reached consensus to stop vesting those tokens when it essentially fired Block.one for failing to continue software development or support for the EOS ecosystem. The 68 million unvested tokens remain in the eosio.stake account and are locked out of circulation.

The Network continues operating using a 3% annualized inflation with 1% being directed to block producers and 2% funds the treasury for the EOS Network Foundation.

EOS is built on delegated-proof-of-stake (DPOS), a form of proof-of-stake that gives token holders governance power relative to their stake in the system. The EOS token is a pro-rata claim on access to the EOS network’s resources, as well as a pro-rata claim on its governance rights. The EOS Network is a decentralized operating system governed by a DAO.

In DPOS, EOS token holders delegate their stake to elect representatives responsible for validating transactions. One of the advantages is that this helps eliminate consolidation, where smaller miners are pushed out by those with greater computing power and resources.