Although there is a lull in developments concerning collusion on the EOS blockchain, the crypto community is actively considering future measures against corruption. Notably, BlockchainKid at the Good Audience blog has proposed a concept for an EOS whistleblower program.
The program, which is called WHISPER, would reward individuals who “reveal and report” corruption on the EOS network. In theory, this would reduce the incentive to participate in corruption by increasing the incentive to report bad actors.
The author compares WHISPER to the SEC’s whistleblower program, which has rewarded several individuals who have exposed corrupt financial practices over the past eight years. So far, 55 whistleblowers have received a total of $266 million along with employment protections.
EOS does not have an analogue to the SEC. Instead, EOS’ WHISPER program would be administered by a handful of prominent and trusted community members who are not affiliated with block producers. The program would be financed from various sources, such as network fees and allocated funds. Block producers could also donate to the program as a show of good faith.
However, critics argue that rewarding whistleblowers could encourage false accusations. One Redditor suggests that “Sometimes it’s hard to get hard evidence for collusion,” meaning that people could come forward with merely circumstantial evidence and win a reward. BlockchainKid agrees that this is an issue but contends that the bar for evidence could be set “fairly high”.
Suggested Reading : Learn how EOS compares to Ethereum in our in-depth platform comparison.
Collusion With Huobi
The WHISPER proposal springs from a recent case concerning accusations of collusion on the EOS network. Several EOS block producers allegedly provided kickbacks to Huobi, a major trading platform, in exchange for votes.
The EOS constitution explicitly forbids vote-buying of this sort. However, the constitution alone cannot stop the practice, as BlockchainKid notes:
“What’s missing currently… is the right counter-incentive to encourage members of the community to step forward with information about wrongdoers, and to then reward them for their efforts to help safeguard the network.”
There is certainly a dearth of information in the Huobi case: a leaked spreadsheet comprises most of the currently known evidence. The EOS Alliance is nevertheless investigating the allegations and is attempting to resolve the dispute. If WHISPER moves beyond its conceptual stage, whistleblowers may facilitate similar investigations in the future.
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