Vitalik Buterin on Ethereum's Five-Year Anniversary - Ep.183
Unchained
The Evolution of Ethereum
This chapter examines the transformative journey of the Ethereum network over its first five years, reflecting on pivotal moments and technological advancements. The speaker discusses early decisions in development, the growing ecosystem of contributors, and lessons learned from past strategies.
Vitalik Buterin, co-founder of Ethereum, shares his thoughts on the five-year anniversary of Ethereum, challenges with ETH 2.0 and criticisms about DeFi. We discuss:
- his thoughts and feelings ahead of Ethereum’s five-year anniversary
- how to address the high gas fees on the Ethereum network
- whether the complexity of Ethereum 2.0 creates a risk for the security of the network
- whether staking will lead to a higher focus on ETH price and issues such as monetary policy
- how he looks at the ETH price with its significance for security in Ethereum 2.0
- how proof of stake systems can be more democratic
- whether staking lends itself to the kind of securitization that looks similar to mortgage-backed securities
- his concerns about DeFi
- the most optimal way for DeFi projects to distribute their tokens
- his thoughts about Bitcoin on Ethereum
- inherent risks to Ethereum users connected to China’s Blockchain Service Network (BSN)
- his views on DCEP, other CBDCs and Libra
- the indictment of Ethereum Foundation staff member Virgil Griffith for allegedly helping North Korea to circumvent sanctions
- how he plans to make the Ethereum Foundation more transparent
- whether lack of diversity would impact the success of Ethereum in the long term
- where he would like to see Ethereum in the next five years
Thank you to our sponsors!
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Episode links:
Vitalik Buterin: https://twitter.com/VitalikButerin
Ethereum: https://ethereum.org/en/
Vitalik’s blog: https://vitalik.ca
Median gas price: https://blockchair.com/ethereum/charts/median-gas-price
Average gas price: https://blockchair.com/ethereum/charts/average-gas-price
Solutions to gas price problem: https://www.coindesk.com/ethereum-developers-consider-new-fee-model-as-gas-costs-climb
Reddit AMA with the Ethereum 2.0 Research team, including Vitalik: https://old.reddit.com/r/ethereum/comments/ho2zpt/ama_we_are_the_efs_eth_20_research_team_pt_4_10/
Paper on how DeFi lending could undermine security in a POS system: https://arxiv.org/abs/2001.00919
Vitalik tweet on yield farming: https://twitter.com/VitalikButerin/status/1278337657194655744
Abra settlement with SEC and CFTC: https://www.coindesk.com/sec-cftc-hit-crypto-app-abra-with-300k-in-penalties-over-illegal-swaps
Maya Zehavi’s comments on what this could mean for DeFi: https://twitter.com/mayazi/status/1282696180741414918
China’s BSN using public chains, including Ethereum: https://www.coindesk.com/chinas-blockchain-infrastructure-to-extend-global-reach-with-six-public-chains
Unchained interview about DCEP: https://unchainedpodcast.com/why-china-aims-to-replace-cash-with-the-digital-yuan/
Charges against Virgil Griffith: https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/pr/manhattan-us-attorney-announces-arrest-united-states-citizen-assisting-north-korea
More on Virgil Griffith case: https://www.coindesk.com/usa-v-virgil-griffith-what-we-know-and-dont-in-the-bombshell-crypto-sanctions-case
Unchained interview with human rights activist Yeonmi Park on what life is like in North Korea: https://unchainedpodcast.com/yeonmi-park-on-why-doing-business-with-north-korea-is-like-buying-a-ticket-to-a-concentration-camp/
Unchained interview on why North Korea is interested in cryptocurrency: https://unchainedpodcast.com/why-north-korea-is-interested-in-cryptocurrency/
Case against Steven Nerayoff: https://www.justice.gov/usao-edny/pr/two-arrested-extortion-startup-cryptocurrency-company
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