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Doubts arise over Ethereum’s path forward

The last time the Dodgers met the Yankees in the World Series I was nine years old. Those were the days when my Little League buddies and I knew how to get on the Jumbotron at Dodger Stadium, Dodger Dogs didn’t cost $20 and the team had been blessed with a pitcher named Fernando Valenzuela.

I was lucky enough to go to game 2 of the series this past weekend. The Dodgers went 2-0 up in the series (and won it all Wednesday night!) after beating the Yankees 4-2 in a nailbiter that was the best baseball game I’ve ever seen live. The national anthem was sung by 19-year-old Pearle Peterson, a college student from Illinois. As she performed her absolutely gorgeous rendition of “The Star Spangled Banner,” I felt a sense of unity with the other fans in the stadium that I haven’t felt for many years. Sports brings all kinds of folks together, and I remember hoping that this feeling of unison would remain after Nov. 5. 

The practice of unity has come up recently in the Ethereum world, where there’s a growing concern that the blockchain’s developer community is steering the ship in the wrong direction. Or, maybe more generously, that the architecture being pursued – layer 1 Ethereum that sprouts layer 2 chains like Optimism and Base to improve speed and lower cost – is too difficult and cumbersome. The idea here is to scale Ethereum so it can compete with the likes of Visa while at the same time maintaining its security.

There have certainly been rifts among Ethereum devs in the past, yet I don’t think they compare to the vitriol seen in Bitcoin sagas like SegWit. We have our shills, our maxis and all that on top of the scammy stuff and the outright thievery. Yet rifts may be appearing now as Ether lags its peers in price gains. I think underlying the questions of the path forward for Ethereum is a dawning idea that Ether may become a utility token, and not something to think of as an investment that hopefully appreciates.

If there’s one thing I’ve learned by co-founding Decential it’s that 98 percent of the crypto community only cares about getting rich. Price is king. So I can’t be shocked that a plateauing Ether coin may be getting some folks agitated.

On the other side, though, is how the devs themselves feel the roadmap is progressing. Criticism is valid, of course, it always is, and yet in crypto -- as far as my experience -- there’s a limit to critical thought that’s reached when it comes to the coding that underlies everything. I can’t code so I can’t critique it. And I think that’s the case for a large part of the disaffected folks right now. With that in mind, I’m leaning toward the devs.

Chief among them is Ethereum creator Vitalik Buterin, who jumped into the debate the other day to say that criticizing the present state of Ethereum is a natural reaction, yet ultimately unnecessary as there’s no need to justify current inadequacies. Not a very strong argument, in my opinion, but he attached the roadmap for how Ethereum is making all layer 2 blockchains work together to create a seamless user experience. The blueprints for all of this, and future improvements, are there for anyone to see.

Eth devs have a lot of goodwill in the bank, in my opinion (remember The Merge?). For its entire history, Ethereum has taken longer than promised to deliver the chain and all its subsequent upgrades. Yet it always delivers. It’s a very energetic and motivated dev community, these Eth heads. I’m sticking with them for now and believe the necessary improvement to Ethereum will soon unify the entire community.

Unity in sports, of course, doesn’t last beyond team tribalism. The four Yankee fans sitting in front of me at the game on Saturday weren’t there to hug me in my Dodgers attire. Nor was I sad when they got very quiet and kept seated for most of the game as the Dodgers dominated. And I wish I felt that there would be a reckoning or unity, a coming together of liberals and conservatives after Tuesday’s election. But I know there won’t be. It’s a shame because back when Fernando was pitching for the Dodgers and Ronald Reagan had just taken office, there were stark differences on the left and right in this country. Yet there was still common ground and a willingness to give quarter to your adversary in good faith.

That’s gone now, and it’s sad. The election is a watershed moment for this country, for civil liberties and the rule of law. It will be consequential for crypto, as well. For my part, I want my country to come out on top, and hope that conservatives are seen rushing for the exits as the third out is called Tuesday night just like those four Yankees fans did a week ago. – Matthew Leising, editor in chief, Decential Media 

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Have you read the definitive history of Ethereum? No? Well then get your copy of Out of the Ether while you can.