Ethereum Founder Allegedly Contributes $517k to ethOS Mobile Project
Vitalik Buterin has reportedly extended financial backing to ethOS, a project hailed as the inaugural Ethereum mobile operating system. As per Arkham data, Vitalik Buterin, the co-founder of Ethereum (ETH), transferred 199.9 ETH, valued at more than $517,000, to a Gnosis Safe multi-signature contract. The prevailing belief is that Buterin’s transaction served as a contribution to the Ethereum phone venture known as ethOS.
Crafted by anonymous developers at Freedom Factory, this open-source endeavor was initially introduced on specific Android devices towards the end of 2022 and relaunched the subsequent year. ethOS stands out as an Ethereum-centric mobile operating system enabling users to code blockchain applications and deploy decentralized applications based on ETH. The team, established in 2021, aims to unveil further hardware offerings either this year or the next, as outlined on the official ethOS platform.
The blockchain industry, fifteen years post the emergence of Bitcoin (BTC), is actively striving for widespread adoption by facilitating convenient access to Web3 and practical real-world applications. The integration of blockchain protocols with mobile gadgets such as smartphones has historically posed a challenge, though recent advancements indicate progress.
In June 2022, Solana Labs, the entity behind Solana (SOL), launched the Saga mobile device. This hardware was constructed on Android’s OS and pre-equipped with Solana decentralized applications like the Phantom Wallet. Initially, sluggish sales raised doubts about Saga’s viability, taking Solana nearly a year to vend 20,000 units. Nonetheless, Saga 2.0 bolstered this performance by selling 100,000 units through pre-orders within a month.
Presently, Saga seems to be leading ethOS, despite the distinct strategies employed by the two initiatives in merging blockchain technology with mobile devices. Both Ethereum and Solana blockchains have witnessed substantial expansion over the past year. Should ethOS and Saga continue their progression, they might evolve into direct rivals in the blockchain mobile sector.
