Block.One Joins EOS Elections as One Entity Allegedly Has 37% Control

On Nov. 28, EOS Block Producer EOS New York tweeted screenshots of Whois search results that suggest that six of EOS's 21 Block Producers are managed by just a single entity, intensifying criticism of the network's centralization.

EOS's blockchain is secured using a delegated proof-of-stake model, with 21 Block Producers elected to operate EOS token holders to exclusively operate the network's nodes.

One announced that it will be participating in elections to delegate EOS' Block Producers, describing itself as "a small but significant EOS token holder and an anticipated user of the EOS public blockchain" in possession of "Less than 9.5%" of the circulation supply of EOS. "Ultimately, we will begin participating in block producer voting to more actively join other EOS token holders in ensuring the EOS network remains as healthy and revolutionary as ever."

Tweets published by EOS Block Producer, EOS New York, have intensified concerns surrounding EOS's centralization, with the BP appearing to have discovered that six of EOS' Block Producers are one entity.

The tweets include screenshots of Whois search results evidencing that the domains managed by EOS Block Producers stargalaxybp, validatoreos, eoszeusiobp1, eosunioniobp, eosathenabp1, and eosrainbowbp were registered by the same company operating under the name "Fun eos" and based in Shenzhen, China.

Despite his remarks, Sanger later clarified that Everipedia would not be moving away from EOS. At the time, roughly nine of the top 21 EOS Block Producers were based in China - nearly 43%. According to EOSForce, this centralization could lead to collusion between BPs, who could trade votes to maintain their operation of EOS' nodes.

"As a significant but <10% holder of tokens, it is important that BlockOne does vote and support the best block producers in the EOS ecosystem. BlockOne has more knowledge than most of the ecosystem about the underlying EOS technology and is in a fantastic position to guide its further progress."

"Blockchain governance is a complicated task and controversies can quickly erupt when sides don't see eye-to-eye. EOS is the most active blockchain in the world by a significant amount, and we truly believe that issues regarding centralization can be worked out, because rival sides certainly understand the potential of the technology. Lastly, we see a scenario where Block.One's influence could lead to block producers more actively participating in their governance duties."

"The network requires around 30 EOS staked to an account in order to perform a single transaction each day. Once billed as 'free transactions for all,' effective EOS transaction fees now surpass even those of BTC. Instead of needing to pay $0.25 to transfer BTC, EOS users need to stake over $100 of EOS to make a single transaction on the network."

Many from within the EOS community have criticized the EIDOS airdrop, with EOS Israel describing it as an "Attack on the EOS network."