Vitalik Buterin warned the community about the dangers of “stretching” Ethereum’s consensus beyond its core functions. He suggested keeping Ethereum’s core algorithms minimalist and not overloading validators with additional tasks.
In his blog, Ethereum Co-Founder Vitalik Buterin warned the community about the risks associated with overloading Ethereum’s consensus algorithm, i.e., using it beyond block validation and network security.
According to Buterin, using the consensus algorithm for other purposes could increase “systemic risks to the ecosystem.” He also urged the community to “preserve the chain’s minimalism” and not encourage changes.
Buterin noted several ideas that suggest using Ethereum’s validators and consensus algorithm beyond their core functions:
- The ultimate oracle. A proposal that allows the blockchain oracle function to be implemented by betting in ETH for the correctness of certain facts. The technology involves the risk of forking the underlying network.
- Re-staking. A method used by some protocols where Ethereum participants simultaneously use their stake in another protocol as a deposit. Such double use of staked ETH leads to a distorted application of Ethereum’s social consensus, which is unacceptable.
- L1-driven recovery of L2 projects. It involves the ability to fork the L1 protocol to correct errors in the L2 protocols. This approach leads to creation of a lot of forks, which negatively affects the main network.
Vitalik pointed out that the community’s desire to extend the functionality of the blockchain is natural. However, he stressed that each such expansion makes the underlying network more fragile. Overall, according to Buterin, any “stretching” of Ethereum’s consensus increases the cost, complexity, and risks for the network’s validators.
The Ethereum network switched to Proof-of-Stake last September, and a recent Shapella update enabled unblocking staked ETH, which provoked active growth of ETH’s price.
