EOS freezes 27 more accounts, ‘logic and reasoning’ to follow

The higher-ups in the EOS network have reportedly ordered freezing 27 more accounts without any reason given, at least for now.

Last week, Twitter user @ferdousbhai tweeted a screenshot of an unconfirmed EOS Core Arbitration Forum (ECAF) order for EOS block producers (BPs) to “refuse to process transactions” for the 27 accounts and key “until further notice and instruction from the ECAF.” The order was signed by Sam Sapoznick, in his capacity as the ECAF Interim Emergency Arbitrator.

https://twitter.com/ferdousbhai/status/1010206359688753154

According to the emergency order, the accounts will be frozen “pending further review of the claims by an arbitrator.” ECAF did not explain the reason for the order, only noting that “the logic and reasoning for this order will be posted at a later date.”

In response to questions about the veracity of the order, the Twitter user said he got it from the “private Telegram groups for EOS BPs.” According to @ferdousbhai, his team is a block producer candidate.

The EOS network, which has only been live for more than a week, has been making headlines due to its approach to governance. Last week, the network froze seven accounts that were believed to have been carrying stolen funds.

A total of 21 BPs approved the decision to suspend the accounts, but their move raised a lot of eyebrows in the community on grounds that the decision was in breach of the blockchain’s so-called ‘constitution’, which was designed to allay fears over moves of this kind.

For some critics, the freeze orders are indicative that EOS is not a decentralized network. As one Reddit user succinctly pointed out: “Civil asset forfeiture meets blockchain.”

Proponents of the network, on the other hand, claimed the emergency orders likely targeted accounts connected to phishing scams, which targeted investors when EOS migrated from the Ethereum blockchain to the EOS blockchain. In an interview with CoinDesk, Multicoin Capital Managing Partner Kyle Samani said “the 27 accounts were doing spam attacks like the people who impersonate me on Twitter.”