Tezos’ development logjam may finally be broken, as the Tezos Foundation, today announced the resignation of Johann Gevers and Diego Pons and their replacement with two Tezos community members. Gevers had been engaged in a serious dispute with founders Kathleen and Arthur Breitman. According to a press release issued by the Foundation:
“To serve the best interests of the Tezos Project, Johann Gevers and Diego Olivier Fernandez Pons have voluntarily offered to resign from the Foundation Board. They are committed to the success of the Tezos project and will continue to support its development towards a bright future.”
Unusual structure
Part of the reason Tezos has been plagued by delays is because of its unusual structure. The Breitmans have been developing the Tezos software, and their company Dynamic Ledger Solutions owns the source code. Meanwhile, the Switzerland-based Tezos Foundation is the custodian of the Bitcoin and Ether raised during the project’s ICO. That amount, $232 mln at the time, has ballooned in value. According to Swiss law, the Foundation must be independent.
Dispute recapped
The Breitmans have been disputing with Johann Gevers, the then-head of the Tezos Foundation, since October. The Breitmans allege that Gevers is guilty of “self-dealing, self-promotion and conflicts of interest” and wanted him ousted. Gevers accused the Breitmans of “character assassination” and said they just wanted him out so they could gain more control and influence over the Foundation (and the ICO funds).
Impasse
Until recently, the two sides have been at an impasse. The Breitmans have controlled the rights to the source code, but the Foundation has all the money. Without access to ICO funds, development of the project has been delayed. Nonetheless, even before Gevers’ resignation, Kathleen Breitman insisted Tezos would be launched “within a few weeks.”
Moving forward
With recent changes to the Tezos Foundation’s board, the impasse finally appears to be broken. However, investors have already filed a number of lawsuits against the Breitmans, Distributed Ledger Systems and the Tezos Foundation. It’s unclear how those lawsuits will be resolved, or if they will delay the project’s progress.
For now, the Tezos Foundation is only saying that the project is moving forward:
“With the appointment of the two new members to the Board, the Foundation is preparing itself to assist in the timely launch of the Tezos network.”
Dan Burgin
