Charles Hoskinson Criticizes Ethereum’s Governance Model

The governance model of Ethereum is overly reliant on its co-founder, Vitalik Buterin, according to Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson, as reported by Cointelegraph.

The developer suggests that a blockchain can either choose to maintain a simple protocol like Bitcoin or “appoint a king” to lead.

Cardano addresses the “governance trilemma”—”efficiency, effectiveness, and integrity”—through delegated representatives and the Intersect organization, which is based on membership principles. This organization resolves management issues through participant voting.

“With these three components, you have every chance to avoid Bitcoin’s anarchy or Ethereum’s dictatorship,” Hoskinson explained.

The Cardano founder highlighted Buterin’s central role in the development of the blockchain of the second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization.

“Everyone looks to him for a roadmap and inspiration. He is the only person with enough influence to unite people. If he were removed from the equation, what would the next hard fork look like, and how quickly could they implement it?” Hoskinson pondered.

According to the cryptographer, Buterin contributed to the decision to forego optimizing the L1 through sharding in favor of rollups and L2.

The publication noted that the Ethereum co-founder does not hold absolute power. The blockchain employs a combination of off-chain and on-chain governance, including the Ethereum Foundation, community contributions, and stakeholder involvement in EIP.

Key decisions are made at core developer meetings. Contentious issues can lead to a hard fork, as was the case with the network rollback after The DAO, resulting in the creation of Ethereum Classic.

Hoskinson was one of the eight original co-founders of Ethereum and CEO of the Ethereum Foundation. In 2014, Buterin dismissed him.

The Cardano founder acknowledged that he played a similar role in shaping the blockchain he oversees. The new model has changed the approach.

“Charles, alive or dead, it didn’t matter. Innovations will emerge daily,” he explained.

Cardano is still working on its constitution. It is expected to establish strict limits on key issues such as issuance and management.

In September, the Cardano network underwent the Chang hard fork at block #10,764,778. The update marked the beginning of the Conway ledger era and the transition to decentralized governance.

Earlier, Hoskinson announced the upcoming implementation of a new version of the Proof-of-Stake consensus mechanism by the end of the year.

Previously, Mynth service founder Robert Ruse suggested removing the Cardano founder from the project to “enhance decentralization.”