The EOS Arbitrator Problem: A Crypto Governance Breakdown Explained

As told to CoinDesk by Kevin Rose, co-founder and head of strategy at EOS New York, the statement could reflect the broader snags the software has faced since release, but this comment was focused specifically on the EOS Core Arbitration Forum.

Roshan Abraham of EOS Authority, another top block producer, agreed that ECAF's processes are flawed.

EOS Telegram chats are abuzz with complaints, speculation and unanswered questions about the arbitrator.

Still, these folks are supposed to be held to predictable and rational governance rules, those within the EOS "Constitution," although that ruleset is still at an early stage.

The situation is especially embarrassing for EOS which has attempted to reject most cryptocurrencies' state of borderline anarchy: EOS has erected quasi-official institutions, governed by quasi-legal structures, laid out in a written constitution.

All of these events - and in particular ECAF's promise to explain "At a later date" - led critics, mostly from outside EOS, to call block producers a "Junta" and a "Cartel," "Bankers" and "Centralized." ECAF, with its use of flowery legalese, was compared to "Kids" playing pretend, while the EOS network as a whole was accused of conducting "Consensus by conference call."

Instead, EOS supporters want a blockchain that's fast and cheap, but also has the governance structure in place to make decisions that are in the best interest of the user.

Rather than centralization, EOS New York - consistently one of these top 21 block producers - said it has chosen to disregard ECAF decisions because the way they are issued is "Haphazard, opaque, and without a process."

Plus, EOS Argentina recently rolled out an EOS-based application for signing and time-stamping documents on the blockchain, pointedly inviting ECAF to use it.

EOS Authority's position Abraham told CoinDesk, is that all orders "Must be published through a trusted source such as the EOS blockchain or electronically signed by ECAF." Plus, he added, "All evidence and reasoning should also be published with all cases."