Steem witnesses freeze eight accounts tied to Hive fork supporters

In an attempt to “make Steem great again,” Steem witnesses have implemented a soft fork to freeze eight accounts tied to Hive network supporters, which collectively hold 17.6 million STEEM (~$3.2 million at the time). Steem recently underwent a contentious split in which a portion of the old Steem community, angered by the Tron Foundation’s acquisition of Steemit, broke off to build on a new chain, called Hive. This soft fork, billed as a “protective measure,” effectively blocks Hive supporters from accessing their staked STEEM tokens and possibly exiting their positions.

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Why it matters:

• The governance tug-of-war between old and new Steem leadership rolls on, even after the Hive hard fork. The split has been a stain Steem’s short term outlook, and it might lead some to question the long term stability of delegated Proof of Stake (DPoS) systems. Since Tron entered the scene, Steem block producers were able to collude and initiate a contentious network change three different times (four if you include the Hive fork). As we mentioned before, the Steem saga is a cautionary tale for DPoS chains and could foreshadow issues in similar networks down the road.
• Steem holders can “power up” their holdings (in other words, stake it) to receive inflation rewards and participate in governance. But once staked, these tokens aren’t readily accessible; they unlock periodically over 13 weeks. This “power down” period enabled Hive opponents to freeze targeted accounts before these addresses could be emptied.