First of all, unlike other blockchains which are essentially data structures in which transactions are recorded chronologically and publicly, EOS uses the Delegated Proof-of-Stake mechanism for database management.
The owners of tokens on this blockchain called "Block Producers" vote by proxy to make decisions about how this blockchain will operate. Block producers who receive more votes generate blocks in fewer round trips or less time to produce blocks, allowing for increased scalability compared with conventional blockchains.
More specifically, when a new block is produced, a producer must include six fields: the previous block hash, the timestamp of that block, its signature and three other random hashes.
The net effect of this mechanism is that there is no need for every node to process every transaction. Additionally, each node receives an updated copy of the blockchain only once every 3 seconds or less than 600 milliseconds.
Another difference worth noting between EOS and Ethereum is their unique consensus mechanisms. In the case of EOS, it combines Delegated Proof-of-Stake with asynchronous Byzantine Fault Tolerant (aBFT) protocols to achieve high scalability and transaction throughputs without sacrificing security and decentralization. Basically this means that EOS transactions will be byzantine-fault tolerant, will be irreversible, and will achieve finality within a few seconds.
On the other hand, Ethereum uses a proof-of-work mechanism that relies on miners to clear transactions in exchange for gas (an internal transaction pricing mechanism). This requires every node to process every transaction which is not ideal for scalability if the blockchain continues to grow.
Moreover, Ethereum was designed as a general purpose system that can execute any sort of program while EOS is designed specifically to serve the needs of large scale commercial application developers. EOS’s constitution defines its jurisdiction along with rules about how software upgrades are implemented and disputes settled.
The POW mechanism used by Ethereum also means there are significant costs associated with operating a full Ethereum node, the so-called "Omni-GAS" cost which is about $36.4 million per year.
Another major difference between these two platforms is that EOS tokens are not intended to be used for currency transactions but rather act as bookkeeping devices to support the EOS blockchain. The official website states that, "The tokens do not have any rights associated with them and do not entitle their holders to any method of active or passive income." Instead, it appears they were designed solely to provide an incentive for Block Producers to manage the platform in an effective way while providing users with access rights on this blockchain (although it remains unclear what kind of access).
Another key difference worth mentioning is that while Ethereum requires developers to learn a new programming language called Solidity to write smart contracts, EOS will provide a web based toolbox for programmers to develop applications directly using key features from popular languages such as C++ and Javascript. In effect, this means it is easier to set up an EOS development environment compared with Ethereum which makes it more attractive to developers who want to build dapps on the blockchain.
There are other differences between these platforms but the information listed above should give you a good idea of how they work and why investors have been so attracted by both platforms in recent times.
