Dash's Rotten Core

Much is said about dash's funding mechanism but, unfortunately, it is weak and corrupt to the core.

Anyone can submit a grant from dash's treasury. In response, collateralised masternodes vote and the money is either granted or denied. Unfortunately, masternodes have little or no control over the strategic direction of dash. Indeed, dash's Core team are consistently opaque in their operations, justifying their secret decisions by citing Non-Disclosures Agreements (NDAs) to close deals.

What follows is an example of how dash's Masternode Operators (MNOs) are regularly mislead / mis-sold budget proposals. As you will see, dash's budgeting system is not only operating in unchartered waters, it is in my opinion potentially operating illegally.

Compliance and Contempt

In August 2016, Robert Więcko (kot) - under the guise of "Project Manager" - made a proposal to attend a "monthly blockchain, Bitcoin and startup event". In that proposal, there was no direct mention of Coinfirm or AML/KYC compliance. Here is the original proposal:
https://www.dashcentral.org/p/warsaw-conf-aug2016

You'll notice a link was provided to satoshi.pl - a website primarily in Polish and with minimal mention of Coinfirm. In Robert Więcko's proposal, he failed to directly mention AML/KYC or provide a direct link to coinfirm.io. Oversight or deceit?

As events unfolded, it became apparent that Mr Więcko was being disingenuous with his proposal. In an interview with Amanda B. Johnson, Pawel Kuskowski (CEO and co-founder of Coinfirm) admits he had reached out to Mr Więcko prior to the event. None of this was directly stated in Mr Więcko's proposal, but given the enormity and implications for dash, one might think it was materially important. Here is the interview between Amanda, Mr Więcko and Kuskowski. The interview was held after funding had passed. The relevant statements begin at 3:06 and confirmed at 9:56...

It should also be noted, within dash Mr Więcko's job title is "Project Manager" yet his background is in banking and, in particular, compliance. This is confirmed at 27:05 of Amanda's interview, much to her surprise. Yet another omission from Mr Więcko's proposal, or just shy to talk about AML/KYC when trying to raise money? Well, you'll notice there's a link in Mr Więcko's proposal to the dash forum.. and surprise surprise, there is no mention of AML/KYC compliance or Coinfirm. In fact, the dash community was being sold an opportunity for dash to be promoted in Poland:
https://www.dash.org/forum/threads/dash-on-warsaw-block-on-25-08-2016.10211/

A subsequent search reveals a meetup page that states the event was being presented and hosted by Coinfirm and the Coinfirm Blockchain Lab. Again, this meetup page was not disclosed to MNOs in Mr Więcko's proposal or in the related dash forum. You can see Mr Więcko's name at the bottom of the meetup page:
https://www.meetup.com/Warsaw-Block-Monthly-Blockchain-Bitcoin-and-Startup-event/

Mr Więcko has correctly stated that in his financial world, there are rules and regulations. And it is my understanding that when someone is attempting to raise money, they should not omit something that is materially significant. It is my assertion, given Mr Więcko was in full knowledge of Coinfirm's attendance and intention, and given his opacity during his money raising, that such matters should be raised with securities regulators.