Controversy continues to surround the new EOS blockchain and its particular governance model. The platform finally launched, several days late, after its “Block Producers” (BPs) eventually reached a consensus that it was ready. Then, after deciding to freeze seven accounts which had reportedly fallen victim to phishing, one BP allowed a double spend after failing to attend a conference call due to “having something to do.”
Now rumours are circulating that the BPs have formed into “cartels” under the control of certain cryptocurrency exchanges, making a few groups much more powerful than the rest of the community.
Even more controversial has been the actions of the EOS Core Arbitration Forum (ECAF), who by exercising their power are “causing absolute chaos in the community.” Some in the community have called for its abolition, or at least voting for BPs who refuse to recognise ECAF’s authority.
Time for another constitution?
It seems that even EOS CTO Dan Larimer has realised that things may have gone too far. In a conversation with a concerned member of the EOS community he said that his “official opinion on disputes regarding stolen keys is that no action should be taken” and that the “damage to the community from ECAF is greater than the funds we hope to restore to users.”
Particularly concerning to Larimer is the number of disputes which have been raised to the arbitration committee. “I have learned a lot about human nature,” he said, “watching the disputes, the witch hunts, the ‘bring everything before ECAF mindset’.”
He also announced that he has prepared a new constitution which he believes will have full support. He confirmed, when pushed, that he envisaged a withdrawal of the entire current constitution and replacing it with one where arbiters can only rule on smart contract code and hacks.
This reversal has garnered praise, or at least relief, in the EOS community. However, one Reddit user characterised the turnaround as “we should model our governance more like other chains where governance is just about code updates and protocol changes” and wondered if this completely removes the EOS unique selling point, that “we can be the positive UX chain for non technical people where an ECAF could restore accounts and block hacked funds.”
If they no longer have that, then why choose EOS over one of its many competitors?
