Vitalik Buterin, the creator of Ethereum, has emphasized the need for greater transparency in the alignment and governance of the Ethereum ecosystem. He argues that the community must balance decentralization and cooperation to unify various stakeholders while preserving Ethereum’s fundamental principles.
The Ethereum ecosystem comprises diverse participants, including client teams, researchers, layer 2 projects, developers, and local communities. Each group pursues its vision of Ethereum, raising concerns about potential fragmentation within the ecosystem. To mitigate this risk, the Ethereum community is increasingly discussing the concept of “alignment.”
Defining alignment in Ethereum
Buterin defines alignment as encompassing three critical areas: values alignment, technological alignment, and economic alignment. Values alignment emphasizes the importance of open-source principles, reducing centralization, and supporting public goods. Technological alignment involves adherence to ecosystem-wide standards, while economic alignment encourages using ETH as the primary token across projects.
Buterin highlights that the notion of alignment has remained ambiguous, leading to concerns that some projects may align based on personal connections rather than foundational principles. He proposes that Ethereum alignment be articulated through specific properties measured by concrete metrics to create clarity.
Critical components of Buterin’s alignment policy
Open-source software is a cornerstone of Ethereum’s alignment framework. It fosters security through inspection and diminishes the risk of proprietary lock-in. While not every line of code needs to be open-source, Buterin asserts that core components must adhere to this standard to maintain transparency and accessibility within the infrastructure. He cites the Free Software Foundation’s definition of free software and the Open Source Initiative’s standards as exemplary benchmarks for open-source practices.
Additionally, open standards play a pivotal role in ensuring interoperability across the Ethereum ecosystem. Buterin asserts that projects should maintain compatibility with existing standards, such as ERC-20 and ERC-1271. If new requirements emerge, projects should develop new ERCs to accommodate them. The primary metric for assessing alignment in this area is straightforward: does the project align with the relevant ERCs? If not, it fails to meet the alignment criteria.
Decentralization and security are equally important facets of Buterin’s alignment vision. He recommends that projects avoid single points of failure and reduce reliance on centralized infrastructure. To evaluate this, he proposes two tests. The walkaway test first assesses whether an application can continue functioning if the development team and its servers are no longer available. The second, the insider attack test, evaluates the potential damage a team could inflict if they chose to undermine their system. Layer 2 solutions should strive to pass these assessments, according to Buterin.
Fostering a positive-sum environment
Buterin contends that alignment should benefit individual projects and the broader Ethereum community. This can be achieved by utilizing ETH, contributing to open-source initiatives, and committing to donate a percentage of tokens or revenues to support public goods within the ecosystem. Such an approach creates a positive-sum outcome, where the success of one project fosters advantages for the entire community.
Projects should aspire to contribute beyond the Ethereum platform. This could involve developing technologies that deliver utility beyond cryptocurrency, such as funding mechanisms or general computer security solutions. Buterin envisions Ethereum as a vehicle for promoting freedom and openness worldwide, ultimately enhancing financial inclusion and providing real-world benefits.