Ethereum: A Way to Protect Itsself

The core problem lies in ensuring that all these independent efforts — whether by L2 teams, wallet developers, or community groups — contribute to a cohesive whole. 

Ethereum is at risk of becoming an isolated collection projects which do not integrate well. This will undermine its power as a distributed network.

Buterin has advocated for establishing clear metrics to evaluate how well individual projects align with Ethereum’s broader goals, thus reducing the risk of social layer capture — where success is based more on personal connections than on actual contributions to the ecosystem.

Explore how Buterin proposes to grow Ethereum without compromising its core values.

The three pillars for Ethereum alignment

Three core types are at the heart of Ethereum.

• Values
• Technological

The types of projects are a guide to ensuring that they contribute significantly to Ethereum’s success on the long term.

Alignment of values

Values are the first element of Ethereum’s alignment. Ethereum’s foundation was built upon the principles of decentralization and openness.

This is why open source software plays a vital role. Code that’s proprietary or not visible to the public is a warning sign in an eco-system driven by trust and transparency.

Ethereum base-layer software such as Geth and Prysm is open-source. Anyone can view and modify the code. The standard should extend further than the base-layer. 

Buterin says that core infrastructure should be based on the definition of open source software by both Free Software Foundation and Open Source Initiative.

Take a look at the following: DeFi Uniswap and other projects (such as Uniswap) are a good example of this.UNI( ) is open-source. This is one of the main reasons for their community’s support. As of October 10, the total liquidation in Uniswap hovers around $3.4 billion, and its success isn’t just due to being a great protocol — it’s because anyone can build on, fork, or improve it.

On the other hand, projects that prioritize profits over public goods—those that introduce proprietary elements — risk creating fragmentation. Polygon (for example) is a good example.POL) ZK rollupsWhile a significant step in the scaling of technology, they still work largely within an centralized framework.

Closed projects or proprietary code can be a single point of failure that undermines decentralization, causing unnecessary risk and undermining the value of openness. The alignment of values means that, as technologies change, they should remain open, accessible, and available to all. This will reduce the risks associated with centralization.

Alignment of technology

The backbone of Ethereum’s technology is shared standards. The network could devolve to a collection of fragmented, incompatible solutions without these standards. Technology alignment is important to ensure that the projects are both innovative and interoperable.

ERC is a good example. ERC-20 is widely used, making it easier for applications, wallets and exchanges to work with tokens built on Ethereum. By 2024 there will be over 500,000 ERC-20 Tokens, which shows the strength of standards. 

ERC-721, likewise, has been the foundation for the NFT The ecosystem enables creation of unique assets on multiple platforms.

Ethereum technology, however, is rapidly evolving. These innovations, such as L2 solutions (ERC-4337) and account abstraction (ERC-4337), are becoming increasingly popular.

Users moving assets across chains need seamless cross-L2 transfer. The current process is cumbersome and costly.

ZK rollups and other newer technologies also pose challenges for the ecosystem. ZK-rollups provide enhanced privacy and scalability, but they also introduce technical complexity that requires careful standardization.

For projects to avoid fragmentation they must work together and establish new protocols, ERCs that will allow these innovations to be integrated fully into Ethereum’s ecosystem.

Economic alignment

Economic alignment is the third pillar. Ethereum’s economic system is based on ETH. Projects that are aligned economically should use ETH whenever possible.

DeFi has launched its ecosystem on October 10. holds ETH serves as the basis for several protocols and is worth over $81 Billion. 

MakerDAO is a great example of a project like this.MKRAaveAAVEETH is used as collateral for loans. This reinforces its status as the most trustworthy asset in the Ethereum ecosystem. This network effects drives adoption, and the Ethereum economy as a whole is strengthened.

But economic alignment goes beyond just using ETH. Buterin suggests that projects should contribute to public goods—initiatives that benefit the entire ecosystem, not just individual projects.

Gitcoin has become popular. raised Over $50 million will be spent on open-source software development and infrastructure to support the Ethereum network.

Yet, challenges remain. Stablecoins are increasingly used by many projects. This is especially true for those that handle high volumes of transactions. As ETH’s role in the daily operation of Ethereum network is reduced, this trend may fragment Ethereum’s model.

Economic alignment essentially means ETH is the primary unit of currency across Ethereum’s ecosystem and that ETH is reinvested in public good to contribute to Ethereum’s success on the long term.

Metrics for measuring alignment

You should avoid making “alignment” Buterin suggests using concrete metrics that track the alignment of projects with Ethereum’s technology, values and economy. We’ll dive in to the four metrics Buterin suggests.

Open Source adoption

How much code of a project is publicly available can indicate how closely it adheres to the open-source philosophy. 

These projects adhere to both the OSI definition and FSF’s open-source guidelines, so they can remain transparent and cooperative.

Aave is an example of a project with a completely open source that allows users to verify the security and review smart contracts. It aligns well with Ethereum’s core philosophy, which emphasizes decentralization. 

Ethereum does not support projects that use closed-source codes.

Standard compliance

The standard compliance of a project is based on how closely it adheres to Ethereum’s standards. Standards like ERC-20 and ERC-721 are adopted by projects to ensure smooth interaction with dApps, tools and other projects in the Ethereum ecosystem.

It also takes into consideration how projects actively contribute to Ethereum Improvement Proposals. These projects show high levels of technical alignment.

Security and decentralization

This test can be used to measure the effectiveness of a project if its team were suddenly gone tomorrow. The walkaway test can be easily passed on decentralized exchanges, because they have smart contracts that operate without a need for a central authority.

The insider test also evaluates the project’s vulnerability against internal exploitation. This test scores poorly for projects heavily reliant upon centralized control as these are vulnerable to internal attacks. 

In contrast, projects resilient to such risks—due to decentralized governance—demonstrate a strong commitment to Ethereum’s decentralized vision.

Positive-sum impact

This metric evaluates the amount of contribution a project makes to the Ethereum eco-system and beyond. This metric is highly rated by projects that have ETH as their main token, donate a portion of their revenues to public goods, and contribute to open source development.

Experts give their opinion

Ethereum is moving towards greater scalability via L2 solutions. The balance between efficiency and decentralization becomes increasingly delicate.

It is important to ask how much decentralization Ethereum can sacrifice without losing its core values. Also, whether the L2 technology will fragment the ecosystem.

To explore this critical intersection, crypto.news consulted leading industry experts, whose insights reveal that Ethereum is still facing uncharted challenges—and that the future may demand trade-offs that challenge the network’s founding principles.

Ulyana Skladchikova is the Head of Product for Blockscout. She understands that Ethereum’s ecosystem continues to evolve. Ethereum is currently in a state of rapid experimentation where decentralization, scalability and speed are being tested constantly.

Decentralization is a process—it’s constantly evolving. We’re currently in a phase of L2 solutions being launched frequently. They test different hypotheses and then iterate based on the results. While there will be tradeoffs as we strive to achieve the core Ethereum decentralization goal, transparency cannot be compromised.

Ethereum’s journey to decentralization, though it is in its testing phase, is not yet complete. 

Decentralized systems such as sequencers, and submissions that are fraud proof will not be available for many years. It’s not just about technology—it’s also about community engagement. More active participation is needed. It is not possible to achieve decentralization by just a few super users. A much wider base of people must be involved.

Roy Hui offers an alternative, more practical perspective. He believes in decentralization but argues not every project needs to be as aggressive.

What goals are being pursued by a particular project will determine the importance of decentralization. For example, gaming chains don’t require the same degree of decentralization that financial applications do. LightLink ensures that user autonomy will never be compromised, even if efficiency is the priority in certain areas. The users must always have the ability to manage their assets even when tradeoffs are made around centralization.

Hui agrees that decentralization remains the ultimate goal—it’s just not something that can be achieved overnight.

Decentralizing a chain is like trying to rebuild an airplane mid-flight — it’s incredibly challenging. Decentralizing the processes such as submissions that are fraud proof and aligning them with Ethereum security standards, we find a balance of performance and decentralization. We’re making progress, though it’s slow.

Skladchikova as well Hui raised the fragmentation of Ethereum in particular with regard to L2-L2 bridges. Skladchikova explains:

The L2-L2 bridge is the biggest blindspot right now. By not having transparent, secure bridges we run the risk of creating isolated ecologies in which different L2s are unable to communicate with one another. It could result in fragmented systems, with L2s not working together as part of the Ethereum ecosystem. If bridges are not transparent and safe, the whole network is at risk of fragmentation.

Hui, who argues for a simplified user experience to minimise friction, highlights Skladchikova’s focus on structural risk.

Now, cross-chain asset transfer and ownership are the main UX challenges. The user shouldn’t have to worry about which chain is being used. Processes should be simple and intuitive. The process should be seamless and intuitive.

As Ethereum continues to grow, both experts also expressed concerns about social capture—the risk of power and influence becoming concentrated in the hands of a few insiders, rather than being evenly distributed across the ecosystem.

“Ethereum’s community is still relatively small, and early relationships play a big role in what gets built and promoted,” Skladchikova explains. 

Projects based on favouritism, however, will start to disappear as the ecosystem matures. Innovation will win in the end, but it is important to keep things open and transparent so that we can avoid social capture.

Hui, the Ecosystem Lead of LightLink and Dan Enright (the Ecosystem lead at LightLink) are working actively to stop social capture on their platform.

A DAO will be formed to oversee the decision-making process and allocation of resources. We’re decentralizing the governance to ensure that influence is fairly distributed within LightLink. It’s not just about who has early access—it’s about creating opportunities for everyone to participate.

Enright says:

We want to ensure that governance is accessible so that it doesn’t get dominated by the insiders. We are working on empowering independent developers by giving them the tools to help bring their project to life. Merit, and not connection should determine the future.

Experts agree that the goal of decentralization is still the most important, but to get there, they will need compromise, creativity, and an unwavering commitment to keep Ethereum a fair, open and transparent system.