Voting: The herald of EOS's success
For unconsolidated applications on the blockchain, EOS looks promising as it provides a fast and lessfee platform but a large number of token holders have to be involved in order for it to be successful. As a more centralized project in which twenty-one voted-in supernodes assure transactions, voting is key to keeping block producers accountable and successful in supporting the large volume expected to roll out on EOS.
“As we move toward an open-source society, what will distinguish ourselves from one another will be our politics and our systems of governance. In EOS, there are three factions of governance: the Block Producer, Arbitration, and the Token Holder. The Block Producer must abide by the other two or else be removed from their position. Incentives are aligned between all groups to always be increasing the value of the network,” were the words of Kevin Rose of EOS New York which runs as a block production candidate.
The step to delegate proof of stake with twenty-one block producers is a radical departure compared to how other blockchains like ethereum function. Voting for the supernodes will begin on June 2. The EOS token holders can cast vote on who will prove transactions but at the moment, it's causing an agitated debate.
Voters need to make educated judgement on block producers for the EOS to launch successful. But before this, they have to register their tokens, research block producers, then stake their token for a three day period in order to vote. The requirements seem alot to ask for from fortuitous investors but it is necessary for the long-term vitality of the platform.
POWER DYNAMICS
Is it possible for too much power to end up in the hands of a few block producers? For example bitfinex and huobi global which are two major exchanges and also happens to be the leading contenders in the upcoming election. The two might be voted in but it doesn't mean they will have a higher volume of transaction because all the top twenty-one producers take care of the same amount of blocks per round. Some have argued that trust can only exist on the blockchain if power is adequately spreaded out allowing the nodes to keep each other in check.
With only twenty-one supernodes, the risk of one or more supernodes having excessive influence over the other is high but this small group is what gives EOS it's advantage in throughput. EOS governance model helps to keep the weight of block producers power equal. Block producers must obey arbitration rulings and the token holder referendum or risk being voted out.
200 standby nodes have been projected as economically viable while only 21 block producers are selected for each block. When a top producer is unable to perform their functions, standby nodes are ready to step in. A standby node must posses votes that can accumulate at least a100 eos per day pay out.
WHALES
Another concern is that the people with more eos will continue to have more votes than those without. This might lead to voting nodes for self interest . If the election is swayed in favor of a particular block producers, it will hinder the Democratic election process and as well compromise the integrity of the EOS blockchain.
The EOS has a constitution which exist as a ricardian contract. This helps with creating limits. It must be included on ever transaction for the transaction to be considered valid. Also 10% is the highest percentage of issued tokens an individual or group of individuals can own. Bringing this to effect would be difficult but at least it's a policy.
INDIVIDUAL MATTERS
Some are concerned that the turn out for the election might be low and this can lead to a few people having too much influence. So to help ensure a minimum turn out, 15% of all tokens must vote at launch if not, the chain will be considered invalid. An impressive turn out of voters from the start will show that EOS is supported by many decision makers who seek their delegate in form of block producers .
EOS NEW YORK, EOS TRIBE AND EOS SWEDEN and many other respected block producers and developers are building an EOS portal which will serve as an open source voting portal. This portal will help anyone with little or no technical expertise to vote with ease using scatter (the metamask of EOS).
After the project was posted on steemit, it raised more than $25,000 in support of block producers and community members within 7 days. A fair and easy to use portal can increase the number of turnout among average holders.
STAKING SHOWS COMMITMENT
Most investors won't want to stake their EOS investment for the lock-in period necessary to vote .staking shows commitment but some investors don't want to do it even though the time frame was reduced from 6months to 3days. This assurance is needed for for responsible voting.
A STRONG SHOWING TO LAUNCH EOS
A thorough and well-informed voting is key to maintaining the integrity of the EOS ledger because it uses proof of stake and not proof of work to run the blockchain. It's aim to to allow more power to average users because proof of work block chains are disproportionately controlled by large minning operations. Proof of stake has its own problems as any voting system would and can only be loved by educated and well intended voters .
By June 2, EOS voters need to do their research and votes for the supernodes which has the best interest of the community at heart. There are a 100 candidates so it might be difficult to do this. EOS success is tied to many token holders voting for the best candidates. This is a highly anticipated vote session as it is the communities first marker of success. The community will be watching for the results.
With all the above said, a platform is only as valuable as what it is built upon and what it is built with. It will take many successful elections to prove that EOS can be a successful and and working DAPP platform .
Thanks for reading