{"id":52834,"date":"2018-05-16T17:15:32","date_gmt":"2018-05-17T00:15:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cryptoslate.com\/?p=52834"},"modified":"2026-04-26T17:03:07","modified_gmt":"2026-04-26T16:03:07","slug":"ethereum-founder-vitalik-buterin-helps-daniel-larimer-code-says-eos-not-actually-safe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cryptoslate.com\/ethereum-founder-vitalik-buterin-helps-daniel-larimer-code-says-eos-not-actually-safe\/","title":{"rendered":"Ethereum Founder Vitalik Buterin Helps Daniel Larimer Code, Says EOS “Not Actually Safe”"},"content":{"rendered":"

The EOS<\/a> development team is currently working at high speed ahead of the scheduled mainnet launch on the 2nd of June when EOS will migrate from the Ethereum network onto its own blockchain over the course of 40 days. The dev team has had unexpected assistance, however, from Ethereum<\/a> co-founder Vitalik Buterin<\/a>, who has taken to the EOS GitHub to critique the project.<\/p>\n

In a series of comments<\/a> on a loss of consensus issue posted by EOS CTO Dan Larimer<\/a>, Buterin expressed concerns regarding the safety of a solution presented by Larimer, critiquing Larimer\u2019s now-closed resolution that is intended to ensure that EOS\u2019s Delegated Proof of Stake 3.0 protocol will not fall out of consensus.<\/p>\n

Buterin Weighs in on EOS: Just Use Casper<\/h2>\n
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Related Story:\u00a0Ethereum Founder Vitalik Buterin: Sharding is Coming<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Buterin\u2019s concerns with the development of the EOS project appear to stem from the similarities between Larimer\u2019s solution to the consensus issue presented and Ethereum\u2019s Casper FFG<\/a> algorithm \u2014 the conditions described are functionally equivalent to the \u201cno double vote\u201d and \u201cno surround vote\u201d slashing conditions present in Casper FFG.<\/p>\n

On May 15, Buterin commented on the solution, stating that the solution presented \u201cdoes not seem to actually be safe,\u201d advising Larimer:<\/p>\n

\u201cIn general, it's not possible to achieve BFT safety on a block without at least two messages from most nodes that directly or indirectly reference that block; this algo tries to do it in one round and it's likely impossible to actually do that safely. If you want an intuitive and good way of doing this, I recommend just using the algorithm in our Casper FFG paper\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Buterin\u2019s underhanded recommendation that EOS \u201cjust use Casper FFG\u201d is relatively valid given the solution presented by Larimer \u2014 in Buterin\u2019s own words:<\/p>\n

\u201cIf so, then as long as you add source checkpoint references (see the Casper FFG paper) and add certain slashing conditions around those, then you've basically got Casper FFG.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The \u201cassistance\u201d provided by Buterin regarding the consensus issue isn\u2019t the first time Buterin has expressed concerns regarding the EOS project \u2014 the Ethereum co-founder took a question at the Ethereum Shenzhen Meetup Launch Event in 2017 regarding EOS. The Delegated Proof of Stake consensus method via which EOS achieves consensus, according to Buterin, is dangerously centralized:<\/p>\n

\u201cLarimer has this concept called DPOS where he says that in DPOS you only need about 100 nodes in the network \u2026 The problem is that if you have 100 nodes the system is much more centralized. You can denial of service them. Because you have to vote for them, the nodes that win are going to be the nodes that everyone knows. So it is much easier to attack the people running the nodes. ISPs can shut them down, companies can shut them down, governments can shut it down fairly easily.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n