EOS Alliance Responds To Rumors Of Vote Buying

There is controversy in the EOS community again. This time, it seems to have started with a spreadsheet.

Last week, EOSONE posted a document that, it claimed, proved collusion between Huobi Pool and several other block producers (BPs). Besides showing that these companies colluded in order to maintain their positions as the top 21 BPs (which allows them to produce blocks for the entire network), the document also indicated that Huobi had voted for three BPs (eospace, cochainworld, and eosiosg11111) in exchange for kickbacks, in the form of a share in their block rewards. The document had reportedly been leaked by a former Huobi employee, Shi Feifei.

Denny Wu from Huobi Pool has asserted the document is fake and that its release was timed to damage the launch of the Huobi Pool Token (HPT).

An EOS investor, Maple Leaf Capital, has been pushing the allegations against Huobi on Twitter, while additionally claiming the HPT itself functions as a vote buying tool. One of the ways to obtain HPT is to lock up EOS tokens. (In EOS, voting power is distributed according to EOS token holdings, so locking up others’ tokens would serve to increase Huobi’s voting power.)

But Maple Leaf Capital doesn’t stop there. The Canadian company claims that too much power is concentrating in the hands of Chinese block producers, with 12 of 21 being Chinese companies, and implying that these companies are effectively working to form a cartel. It writes, “This file documents the collusion, mutual voting, and pay-offs that occur amongst the Chinese BP community,” before adding that Maple Leaf Capital’s proxy “only votes for a very selective [sic] group of Chinese BPs.”

Huobi has made no statement or official denial on its website or its Steemit page. So far, the response has been limited to Wu’s brief denials on Telegram. The company hasn’t even responded to Maple Leaf Capital’s Twitter assault.

But EOS Alliance, an organization intended to facilitate communication between EOS community members, has released a statement on the situation. This statement, signed by Thomas Cox, seems intended to tamp down the controversy and prevent any further anti-Chinese sentiment from developing.

Without mentioning Huobi Pool by name, the statement says, “Serious allegations have recently been made in Telegram and the press of voting abuse by supporters of some of the (current) top 21 block producers (BPs) and by other paid standby producers. Such abuse, if it exists … does raise a very serious question as to the long term viability of the network.”

However, Cox’s post calls on EOS members to give the dispute resolution system, “founded on timeless principles of justice,” a chance to work. He also points out that there were “geopolitical considerations” that should be kept in mind:

“Chinese corporations and investors are potentially being demonized, and the consequences in China might be more dire for the individuals involved than they would be in other countries … The community seeks to provide reasons for the Chinese government to increase the opportunities to legally engage with Blockchain projects, and not create a sense that Chinese token holders or BPs are being unfairly picked on.”

Tim Prentiss is a writer and editor for ETHNews. He has a master’s degree in journalism from the University of Nevada, Reno. He lives in Reno with his daughter. In his spare time he writes songs and disassembles perfectly good electronic devices.

ETHNews is committed to its Editorial Policy

Like what you read? Follow us on Twitter @ETHNews_ to receive the latest EOS, Maple Leaf Capital or other Ethereum technology news.