Vitalik's blog: What are the values that the Ethereum ecosystem needs to align clearly?

Compilation | Wu Talks Blockchain

The content of this article does not represent Wu's views.

One of the most important social challenges in the Ethereum ecosystem is balance — more precisely, the integration of decentralization and collaboration. The strength of this ecosystem lies in the multitude of different individuals and organizations — client teams, researchers, Layer 2 teams, application developers, local community organizations — all working towards their own vision for the future of Ethereum. The main challenge is to ensure that all these projects can collectively build what appears to be a unified Ethereum ecosystem, rather than 138 incompatible small kingdoms.

To address this challenge, many in the Ethereum ecosystem have proposed the concept of "Ethereum alignment." This can include the alignment of values (for example: maintaining open source, minimizing centralization, supporting public goods), technical alignment (for example: adhering to standards across the ecosystem), and economic alignment (for example: using ETH as a token as much as possible). However, this concept has historically been vaguely defined, which may pose risks of social control: if alignment merely means "being with the right people," then the concept of "alignment" has already failed.

To address this issue, I believe we should clarify the concept of coordination by breaking it down into specific attributes, which can be represented by specific metrics. Each person's list of metrics may differ, and the metrics may change over time. However, I think we already have some solid starting points.

Open source – this has two important values: (i) the code is inspectable to ensure security; more importantly, (ii) it reduces the risk of proprietary lock-in and allows unlicensed third parties to improve it. Not every part of every application needs to be fully open source, but the core infrastructure components that the ecosystem relies on should definitely be open source. The gold standard here is the FSF's definition of free software and the OSI's definition of open source.

Open Standards - Strive for interoperability with the Ethereum ecosystem, building upon existing open standards (such as ERC-20, ERC-1271, etc.) and standards currently under development (such as account abstraction, cross-L2 transfers, L1 and L2 light client proofs, upcoming address format standards). If you want to introduce a new feature that is not well served by an existing standard, please collaborate with others to draft a new ERC. Applications and wallets can be evaluated based on their compatible ERC standards.

Decentralization and Security - Avoiding trust points, minimizing censorship vulnerabilities, and reducing reliance on centralized infrastructure. Metrics can include (i) "Retreat Testing": If your team and servers disappeared tomorrow, would the application still be available? (ii) "Internal Attack Testing": If your team attempted to attack the system, how much would be compromised, and how much damage could be done? An important formal test is the rollup stage of L2beat.

Positive Conformity

Contributions to Ethereum - The success of the project should benefit the entire Ethereum community (such as ETH holders and Ethereum users), even if they are not part of the project's own ecosystem. Specific examples include using ETH as a token (thus enhancing its network effects), contributing to open-source technology, and committing to donate a portion of tokens or revenue to public goods within the Ethereum ecosystem.

Contributions to a broader world - Ethereum's goal is to make the world more free and open, enabling new forms of ownership and collaboration, and making a positive contribution to the important challenges facing humanity. Does your project make a difference in this regard? Examples include applications that bring sustainable value to a wider audience (such as financial inclusion), donations to public goods that extend beyond Ethereum, and technologies that can be practically applied outside the crypto space (for example: funding mechanisms, universal computer security).

Ethereum Node Map, source ethernodes.org

Clearly, not all of the above applies to every project. The metrics applicable to Layer 2, wallets, decentralized social media applications, and other projects will differ significantly. Different metrics may also change in priority: two years ago, having "training wheels" for Rollup was acceptable because it was still in the "early stage"; today, we need to reach at least stage 1 as soon as possible. Currently, the clearest positive-sum metric is the commitment to donate a portion of tokens, which more and more projects are practicing; in the future, we may also find other indicators to measure positive-sum aspects.

My ideal goal here is to see more entities like L2beat emerging, tracking the performance of various projects in meeting the above standards as well as other standards proposed by the community. The competition between projects will no longer be about being friendly with the "right friends," but rather striving to remain consistent under clear and understandable standards. The Ethereum Foundation should maintain a certain distance from these activities: we can provide funding for L2beat, but we should not become L2beat. Creating the next L2beat is itself a permissionless process.

This will also provide a clearer pathway for the Ethereum Foundation and other organizations (as well as individuals) interested in supporting and participating in the ecosystem, helping them decide which projects to support while maintaining neutrality. Each organization and individual can make judgments based on the criteria they value most and choose projects that align with these criteria. This not only allows the Ethereum Foundation but also others to become part of the incentive force that maintains the consistency of the projects.

Only by clearly defining "capability" can we truly become a selective system; otherwise, it is likely to turn into an exclusive and zero-sum social game. Regarding the concern of "who supervises the supervisors," the best solution is not to expect that all influential people are "angels," but rather through tried-and-true technologies, such as the separation of powers. Organizations like L2beat, Blockchain explorers, and other ecosystem monitors that function as "dashboard-type organizations" are excellent examples of this principle at work in today's Ethereum ecosystem. If we can further clarify the coordination of different aspects without concentrating all power in a single "supervisor," we can make this concept more effective and embody it in the fair and inclusive manner that the Ethereum ecosystem strives for.