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RE: About 8 Weeks To Go...
The secrecy was not the actual problem there but an implementation detail. The action was done too hastily and not literally as a last resort. But I also consider Steemit, Inc's founder's stake not to be ordinary stake. Before arguing that Steemit, Inc's stake, controlling founder's stake, was property just like anybody's stake was, then one must accept that securities laws apply to it. The premining of STEEM was nothing but a feeble-minded trick to circumvent US securities law. There were promises attached to it, which were broken the moment Sun started hallucinating about a token swap. If a chain really is decentralized, then stake on it is not a security. If not, then securities laws apply.
Oh is that your legal opinion?
I disagree. But I know that is the spin.
The DPOS code was broken. Doesn't matter what the humans told each other about why... It is that it was possible that is the problem.
The SEC ruled that Ethereum was not a security. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s Director of Corporate Finance, William Hinman, said that:
Source: https://coincenter.org/link/a-top-sec-official-said-that-ether-is-not-a-security
No, it's not a spin. The Securities and Exchanges Commission determines what it is a security and what is not a security in the United States. I seriously doubt Steem could've avoided being considered a security in 2016 on account of the total dominance Steemit, Inc had over the chain due to the size of its stake.
In 2020, the stake that the community controlled was sufficient to prevent a total takeover by the Tron foundation. But if STEEM is not a security, then everything is up to consensus.
There's one thing you should understand about blockchains. The nodes are run by volunteers. Anyone can run any version they want. If they want to be part of a particular chain under DPoS, they have to have the backing of sufficient stake. Steem's DPoS code did exactly as it was designed to. You can't FORCE() anyone to run any particular version of a blockchain code on their own computers. Steem's community witnesses ran a version of the code that did not allow certain accounts to power down or vote for witnesses. Those community witnesses had the full backing of the community. And you can't FORCE() stakeholders to vote for any witnesses they do not want to.
DPoS is about CONSENSUS and that's what it's all about. Only if it's centralized enough then tokens on it are deemed securities, at least according to US regulartors.
*) You could, but you'd have to do it in the physical world. But then you would be in violation of the law.
I guess we will see if the SEC comes after Steem, but not Hive.
You do realize that 100s of Attorneys and legal scholars make conflicting legal opinions every day?
Sure. But the SEC is the one government body in the United States that has the power to determine what is considered a security and what is not considered one. Other countries may decide otherwise.
No one has asked the SEC to decide whether token transactions on Steem are securities transactions.
I think Hive would be deemed a non-security by the SEC on grounds similar to the one's that it considered Ethereum a non-security.