I believe I recall @Ned saying in one interview (maybe the one I posted above) that Steemit Inc. owns the steem blockchain.

Maybe these issues are why @Dan is supposedly working on a Steem II. I found and read an article about it a few weeks ago, after @mistermercury mentioned something about it. https://steemit.com/steemit/@spiritualmax/steem-ii-announced-what-s-the-name-what-s-the-intent-what-s-the-difference