EOS Token Spikes 30% as Network Rebrands to 'Vaulta'

Blockchain network EOS announced its rebrand to “Vaulta” on Tuesday as it pivots towards “Web3 banking” in a bid to capitalize on growing demand for innovative financial products.

Eager to jump at the chance, traders have pushed the network’s native EOS token by 30% to $0.65 shortly after the reveal, CoinGecko data shows.

Despite the sudden surge, the token remains down by 188% from the all-time high of $22.89, showing the challenges the blockchain has faced since its explosive debut.

The transition to Vaulta is tentatively set for the end of May 2025, with the EOS token being swapped for the new Vaulta token, EOS said in a Tuesday statement.

The swap will be bi-directional for four months, allowing users to exchange their EOS tokens for Vaulta at a 1:1 ratio through a dedicated portal.

The Vaulta token will also be listed on the nearly 140 exchanges where EOS currently trades. The token ticker and additional technical details will be revealed at a later date, EOS said in a separate statement.

Vaulta’s "Web3 Banking OS" will provide a suite of tools to enable fractional ownership of real-world assets, staking, custody, and Bitcoin yield strategies, among other offerings, EOS said.

The platform will build on the existing EOS technology, making some key upgrades to improve how it works with other blockchains. 

Smart contracts

One of the main upgrades is a feature called exSat, which will help further smart contracts on Bitcoin, allowing Vaulta to interact with other blockchain networks.

Vaulta’s system will feature one-second transaction finality, C++ compatibility, and Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) compatibility for smart contracts.

Through collaborations with Spirit Blockchain, which enables fractional ownership of real-world assets, and Ceffu, specializing in custody and yield strategies, Vaulta claims it will merge DeFi and traditional finance in a “secure environment.”

The platform also plans to establish a Banking Advisory Council to advise on the project’s direction, including fintech and web3 representatives from Systemic Trust, Tetra, and ATB Financial. 

Launched in 2018 to challenge Ethereum, EOS initially garnered significant attention for its high transaction throughput and lower fees, owing to its unique delegated proof-of-stake (DPoS) consensus mechanism. 

With its record ICO, raising a massive $4.1 billion, EOS was initially seen as a major contender in the blockchain space, touted as an "Ethereum killer." 

Within a year of its debut, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed charges against Block.one, the company behind EOS, for conducting an unregistered securities sale.

Block.one ultimately settled the case by paying a $24 million fine, a penalty that was minimal compared to the $4 billion raised.

As time went on, the network struggled to meet expectations with frequent congestion issues and “mutual voting” allegations, leading to a significant loss of market confidence and a substantial drop in token value.

Edited by Sebastian Sinclair