When it comes to EOS, veteran players probably all have a story to tell. This project, which raised about $4.1 billion through ICO in 2017-2018, was once hailed as a "top-tier project," setting a record for fundraising at the time. Ethereum alone contributed 7 million dollars. But reality is often ironic—after the mainnet launched in 2018, this highly anticipated ecosystem began a long decline in price, dropping from a peak of $22.71 to less than $0.4 today, a stark contrast to the enthusiasm during its fundraising phase.

So, where did the problem lie? The focus is clearly on the project team, Block.one. The community widely complains that the company did not sufficiently invest in the EOS ecosystem itself, instead shifting its focus to other projects like Voice and Bullish. This has left many believers feeling betrayed. Even the EOS Network Foundation couldn't sit still and plans to sue for compensation. More painfully, Block.one was fined by the SEC over regulatory issues, and with a lack of transparency in fund usage, some extreme voices have compared it to a "Ponzi scheme." Of course, this characterization is overly absolute, but it does reflect the community’s genuine concerns about the flow of funds.

In 2025, EOS underwent a major transformation—rebranding as Vaulta and shifting towards cross-chain Bitcoin finance and RWA tokenization. This transition sounds promising, as both BTC ecosystem and real-world asset tokenization are hot topics right now. Unfortunately, Vaulta’s recent price has been highly volatile, with sharp declines and rampant rumors. Some say the team ran away; others claim funds were misappropriated. The crypto community is particularly dramatic—any small change can be spun into a story. The official team continues to clarify, but once trust is broken, it’s very hard to rebuild.

From an investment perspective, a few critical issues need to be clarified. First, Block.one has never publicly disclosed complete details of fund usage, making it impossible for investors to trace the source. Second, ecosystem development has indeed been slow over the years, and no killer app has emerged to truly support the token’s value. Plus, the current trend in crypto regulation is tightening, which could mean more compliance pressures for similar projects in the future.

In summary: the story of EOS (now Vaulta) is essentially a typical example of early crypto ICO projects. High fundraising, low transparency, a weak ecosystem, and the pains of transformation—these are all issues that need serious consideration. If you’re thinking about investing in such highly volatile, low transparency assets, be sure to conduct thorough risk assessments; due diligence is a must.