Vitalik Buterin, the creator of Ethereum, has reportedly made a substantial donation to ethOS, a project that aims to be the first Ethereum-based mobile operating system. According to data from Arkham, Buterin transferred 199.9 ETH, valued at over $517,000, to a Gnosis Safe multi-signature contract, which is widely believed to support the ethOS initiative.
ethOS, developed by the pseudonymous team at Freedom Factory, is an open-source project designed for Android devices. Launched initially in late 2022 and redeployed in 2023, ethOS offers a native Ethereum mobile operating system. This platform enables users to write blockchain code and deploy Ethereum-based decentralized applications directly from their mobile devices. According to the ethOS website, the team, formed in 2021, plans to expand its hardware offerings in the near future.
The rise of ethOS draws comparisons to Solana’s Saga mobile device, which launched in June 2022. The Saga, built on Android’s OS and equipped with Solana dapps like Phantom Wallet, initially faced slow sales but gained momentum with its second version, selling 100,000 units in pre-orders within a month. Although Saga currently appears to be ahead of ethOS in terms of market presence, both projects represent significant steps in merging blockchain technology with mobile platforms.
As the blockchain industry continues to push for mass adoption by integrating with everyday technologies, ethOS and Saga could become key competitors in the emerging blockchain mobile market. Both Ethereum and Solana have seen considerable growth, and the success of projects like ethOS and Saga could further drive the adoption of Web3 technologies in the mainstream.
