The possibility of market manipulation within the cryptocurrency market is a constant concern for investors. While the intention is not clear, it has been found that 10 addresses are holding 496,735,539 EOS tokens, which are worth $5.86 billion and represent 49.67% of the existing one billion EOS tokens.
10 Addresses Hold Nearly Half of All EOS TokensEOS has just under 900 million tokens in circulation as the remaining 100 million are held by Block.one, the company behind the initial coin offering. The other nine top ten holder addresses hold just over 400 million tokens. One address holds 75 million, which seems to be linked to another one holding close to 20.6 million (also in the top 10), and one with 13 million. These three addresses together hold approximately $1.5 billion worth of tokens.
The cryptocurrency exchanges trading the most EOS volumes, including Bithumb, OKEx, Huobi, Upbit, Bitfinex, and Binance, may be some of the top holders of the altcoin. The top 75 holders have at least $10 million worth of the token, which is 646,595 tokens. There is a total of 163,930 addresses holding any token.
As EOS has just launched, the top holders of the token have greater power over the decisions through EOS consensus, given it is decided by token holders’ votes. Large block producers, such as Bitfinex with approximately 10%, hold a significant amount of tokens and can be decisive in a shareholders’ vote.
A power play could be happening already. EOS New York seems to be a front for Block.one and is calling out EOS Force, a potential competitor, for being part of a scheme designed by BCH investors. EOS Force, on the other hand, is making public announcements of which they have no authority over. The entity said it will start the global public test of the main net on June 3, but much testing and voting remain to be done first.
The disproportionate amount of voting power the top ten holders have can be demotivating for investors and users even if the top ten holders were to not abuse their 50% share. From the 169,930 addresses holding tokens, many of which certainly belonging to the same individual or entity, only a few have the ability to make decisions and organize their interests, naturally against the interests of others. Accountability is not, in any way, the name of the game.
In the meantime, Block.one is launching its $11.8 billion code with no official launch date. It is also unclear if the EOS is able to launch successfully with such unorthodox modus operandi. At the time of writing EOS was falling with the rest of the altcoins, shedding over 6% on the day down to just over $13.
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