Block Producers Threaten to Stop Helios Rising - Day of EOS Reckoning set for Dec 7

EOS Community cries freedom as dispute over the ownership of unvested tokens moves up to a new level.


Credit: Bywire News, Canva
Credit: Bywire News, Canva
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LONDON (Bywire News) - The stand-off between the EOS community and B1 ramped up a notch this week, with the block producers beginning to vote on a motion (MSIG) to freeze the remainder of B1’s unvested tokens, which B1 have agreed to be transferred to Brock Pierce’s new venture Helios. It’s the latest move in an ongoing power struggle for control of EOS. With a December the 7th deadline set by the block producers looming, the next few days are going to be very important, one way or another.

The news broke with an update from the ENF chief, Yves La Rose, reporting back from the latest meeting with block producers.

“The majority of the top 30 BPs met as a group yesterday and have left me with a series of items to share with BB[Brendan Blumer].

  1. The MSIGs for stopping vesting was shared with him. Each day additional BPs will sign to make their position known on chain
  2. The BPs offer Block.one the opportunity to meet with them by teleconference to discuss if they wish. If amenable the ENF can coordinate.
  3. The deadline to reach an agreement is December 7 at 18.00EST for the letter of intent / term sheet to be signed and shared publicly.”

Yves is sending a clear message to B1 – ignore the community at your peril.

The dispute centres around B1’s agreement to transfer 45 million of its unvested EOS tokens to Helios, the VC funding vehicle run by Brock Pierce.

The move has been seen as controversial with some who believe those tokens were not B1’s to transfer as they wished. To them, B1 is effectively abdicating on its responsibilities, broken its social contract with the community, and now, for dessert, selling tokens which should belong to the EOS network. This, a source tells us, “represents another in a long line of betrayals”.

Passions are high. As Bywire reported, Pierce and Blumer recently flew to Canada for face-to-face discussions with Yves La Rose in an attempt to find an equitable solution. Nothing came of it, and with the two sides seemingly at a standoff, La Rose raised the possibility that the producers could  freeze the tokens.

That’s a threat they have now followed through on. It is therefore very much game on, which raises the stakes considerably for both B1 and primarily for Blumer himself.

Firstly, what of Helios? Pierce has been vocal that this represents him ‘going all in’ on EOS. Speaking to Bywire’s Michael O Sullivan, he said he saw this as his way of fulfilling the ‘social contract’ he and the other B1 founders felt they owed to the community.

However, some are less than convinced. For one user on Twitter, this news is a ‘money where your mouth is’ moment for Pierce.

“@brockpierce looks like you won't get those $eos @B1 tried to steal from the community after all. I take it this means @helios_rising_  is going nowhere?” he writes. “I mean, you could easily make it happen without stealing the tokens from us but... my money says you won't. Prove me wrong.”

So, what now?

There’s a good chance that this is just brinkmanship, a negotiating tactic. There might always be the sense within B1 that the threats from the block producers amount to little more than a bluff, that was until they began signing the MSIG. People have described this as a nuclear option for a good reason. They very rarely end well. There’s a reason it is often accompanied by the phrase mutually assured destruction. Therefore, it would be MAD for either party to go full nuclear. Everyone loses, so what is the point?  

The freezing action could trigger a wave of events, the result of which would be uncertain, but we might guess a few things.

Firstly, there is plenty of debate about whether the BPs should do this. The chances are that the only way this gets resolved is in the courts – with all sides lawyering up as fast as they can. Good news for lawyers, bad news for everyone else. A lengthy and expensive legal fight would beckon, the outcome of which is far from certain.

Add to that is the question of how this might impact perceptions of EOS. Already there are many who would not touch the network with a bargepole. A civil war is unlikely to change their mind.

This, then, could be a final attempt to push B1 towards making an agreement. Bywire has been told that a number of agreements are on the table. The preferred option for La Rose and the block producers is a negotiated settlement in which B1 surrenders all control, IPs, socials etc, and would pay a small fee to the network.

Helios could then rise as it should; armed with the 45 million vesting EOS.

This would seem to be a sensible solution all round. The fact that B1 is still dithering on a decision is very worrying for some.

What is clear, though, is that the block producers aren’t messing around. The next week will be worth watching. Bywire understands, and logic clearly suggests, that a deal is still the most likely outcome,  but precedent tells us that what happens next, is really anyone’s guess.

 

(Writing by Tom Cropper, editing by Michael O’Sullivan)

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