Ethereum Tzars: The Network Faces Governance Issues?

The Ethereum network may not be as decentralized as previously thought, with experts gathering to tilt consensus.

A gathering of Ethereum experts happened in Toronto, Canada, with a view to finding a centralized solution to some of the network’s scaling problems. And while this event may be too esoteric for most ETH investors, the community may see worrying signs of the Ethereum ecosystem becoming centralized, and in the hands of a few developers, much like the Bitcoin governance.

With a market capitalization of more than 76 billion, Ethereum is a high-stakes network with a valuable digital asset - and it is unknown if the wider community can continue to steer the project, without some centralized decisions.

https://twitter.com/francispouliot_/status/993570971083792385

Vitalik Buterin, Ethereum’s co-founder, stated he knew nothing about the meeting, and gave no approvals:

https://twitter.com/VitalikButerin/status/993674190615203842

Ethereum is facing an evolution into a proof of stake coin, and many decisions are still pending. But what may threaten Ethereum are potential corporate interests getting injected into the governance process.

But some see a paradox, in the fact that Buterin is still acting, at least in part, as an idea leader to the project. One recent point of contention was the desire of the community to achieve ASIC resistance of Ethereum via a hard fork. However, Buterin spoke against such actions, and the Ethereum network is about to see the inflow of Bitmain’s new machines coming to the market soon.

Ethereum was meant to be egalitarian and to a degree, non-commercial. However, a digital asset is not set in stone, and with changes to the code, it is unknown what features could be added to the network.

The doubts surrounding Ethereum come at a moment when the ETH digital asset is seeing a tidal shift, with more investments flowing in from other coins, including Bitcoin. Some believe Ethereum may have its field day in 2018, for another big jump to a new price range.

Bitcoin is Gold, Ethereum is Oil

Ethereum still has not seen an official statement on its status as a security according to US laws. However, the community believes the danger has cleared, and there are no potential limitations to holding, or trading ETH. John McAfee, in his usual tone, recently tweeted:

https://twitter.com/officialmcafee/status/993615877596766210

The ETH digital asset is used as a utility coin at the moment, but some believe it may have served as a security during the ICO token distribution.