[Do users really care about decentralization? 】
Ethereum researcher Dankrad Feist, known for his contributions to the concept of Danksharding, sparked heated debate when he said on social platform X on May 19 that Ethereum “enables crypto vision.”
“Yes, it seems confusing, but that’s because Ethereum is being built for the real world. It solves all the necessary problems, not just a small part.”
Mert Mumtaz, CEO of Solana development platform Helius Labs, responded that the crypto market has a more comprehensive understanding of "necessary issues" than a single entity.
Mert believes that market participants who value decentralization and resistance to censorship will naturally move closer to Ethereum if they believe that Ethereum "best realizes such a vision." However, Feist expressed doubts about how much market participants actually value decentralization.
“The market can’t tell you whether crypto vision is being implemented, especially decentralization and censorship resistance. For example, today’s banks clearly have good PMFs but are not decentralized in any way.”
Mert counters that market dynamics are not homogeneous, so "you can't know whether they're solving the right problem."
Feist firmly believes that the market does not "highly value decentralization" and states that "the market will never be the final judge." This conclusion triggered Mert's final response.
The discussion follows controversy after the Ethereum Foundation’s Justin Drake accepted a paid advisory position with EigenFoundation. Drake is already a researcher at the Ethereum Foundation, and his new advisory role comes with a large EIGEN token reward, which one commentator suggested hints at an "incentive conflict."
EigenLayer is an Ethereum reconnection protocol that has sparked controversy over its “life-changing” airdrop and token-related restrictions. Unable to be transferred or sold before an undisclosed date, users excited about the news showed mixed emotions.
