Bloomberg Analyst Criticised for Ethereum Misinformation

Bloomberg’s renowned ETF analyst Eric Balchunas faced criticism for allegedly spreading false information regarding Ethereum’s decentralisation level.

When asked to recommend the best book on Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies, the expert suggested “Bitcoin: Beginner’s Guide” by Benjamin Hart, and shared excerpts from the book.

For me it was Bitcoin: Beginner’s Guide by @BenHart_Freedom. I saw him on podcast refer to btc as the ‘2nd amendment of money’ and thought anyone who can come up with distilled framing like that has to be a decent writer. I was right, the book is very good, great explainer from…

— Eric Balchunas (@EricBalchunas) October 7, 2024

One excerpt, which was soon deleted, claimed that Amazon Web Services (AWS) could “shut down Ethereum” with the push of a button. WikiLeaks was cited as an example, having had to seek new servers abroad to continue operations.

AWS is used by 28.2% of Ethereum validators as a hosting provider—disabling all these nodes would not suffice to halt the blockchain’s operation.

The excerpt also stated that “any fraudulent government, terrorist organisation, or criminal cartel could kidnap Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin and torture him until he gives them all the ether they want.”

The theory was supported by the case of The DAO hack, which “showed that Buterin can reverse transactions, empty wallets, and move money.”

Balchunas noted that “ether is not as secure as bitcoin.”

For those wondering, this is the tweet Eric deleted — absolute blatant misinformation and pretty much complete propaganda.

You should be utterly ashamed of yourself for even sharing this (and you only deleted it because you didn’t want to deal with people calling you out). pic.twitter.com/E2q3dya9aX

— sassal.eth/acc ?? (@sassal0x) October 7, 2024

“For those wondering, this is the tweet Eric deleted — absolute blatant misinformation and pretty much complete propaganda. You should be utterly ashamed of yourself for even sharing this (and you only deleted it because you didn’t want to deal with people calling you out),” noted Ethereum researcher Anthony Sassano.

ConsenSys product manager Jimmy Ragosa stated that the published excerpt was “the most propaganda-ridden paragraph.”

Boomers will read “Don’t Trust, Verify” in a book, nod in agreement, then turn to the next page and share the most propaganda-ridden paragraph ever without asking themselves any question about the veracity of claims made towards competition.@EricBalchunas. https://t.co/MXQDiSoZb0

— Jrag.eth (@JimmyRagosa) October 7, 2024

Other excerpts from the book, discussing the use of US security system principles to create a decentralised network and providing a guide to using bitcoin, were left by Balchunas.

Lol I don’t have time today, will just leave up bitcoin sections

— Eric Balchunas (@EricBalchunas) October 7, 2024

“Lol, I don’t have time today, will just leave up bitcoin sections,” he noted.

In October, Buterin supported the idea of reducing the minimum required amount of ETH for individual staking participation.