What happened?
Vitalik Buterin, co-founder of Ethereum and also known as V God, has recently been posting frequently in the community, leading to a significant increase in his “KOL mindshare” index and a considerable influence over other leaders in the cryptocurrency field.
KOL mindshare refers to the attention and discussion that a key opinion leader (KOL) receives in social media during a specific period of time.
This is because the Ethereum Foundation has been frequently selling Ether, which has received a lot of criticism from the public. In response, V God has written a lengthy article to explain the reasons behind these sales.
V God explained that these sales are primarily used to pay developers and researchers in order to ensure the continuous operation of the Ethereum network and to maintain its proof-of-stake mechanism. He also responded to the critics, asking them to show some respect.
Is the Ethereum Foundation “shearing the sheep”?
Although the cryptocurrency market entered a bull market this year, with Bitcoin reaching new price highs, the overall performance of Ether seems to be below market expectations. Many investors attribute this to the frequent sales of Ether by the Ethereum Foundation.
According to data shared by Lookonchain, a blockchain data analysis platform, on the social platform X, the Ethereum Foundation sold 100 Ether (worth nearly $260,000) on October 15th, and has sold 3,966 Ether (nearly $11 million) so far this year. This has raised concerns in the market and discontent among investors, who accuse the foundation of leading the “shearing of the sheep”.
Recently, V God responded on X, stating that he has not sold any Ether in the past month and has actually increased his holdings. As for the Ethereum Foundation, it needs to bear the operating costs of the Ethereum network.
V God emphasized that the Ethereum network has been running without a shutdown since 2016 and is capable of completing transactions in less than 30 seconds. Additionally, it provides various functionalities such as zero-knowledge proofs. He believes that the critics should show some respect for these achievements.
Operating Ethereum also requires money!
The Ethereum Foundation, along with researchers, has been working hard to make transactions on the blockchain faster and cheaper, ensuring that each transaction can be processed within 30 seconds and avoiding a surge in transaction fees. Moreover, the foundation is actively developing zero-knowledge technology to create a better user environment. All of these efforts require expenses and operational costs.
However, V God’s explanation did not satisfy everyone. Some netizens quickly questioned why the foundation doesn’t stake all of its Ether to earn income and cover the costs. Does this indicate a lack of confidence in the proof-of-stake mechanism?
In response, V God explained that the foundation wants to avoid making an “official choice” in the event of a contentious hard fork in the future.
However, V God also stated that the foundation is considering other types of staking methods, such as distributing grants to those who stake Ether, allowing recipients to control the withdrawal time and retain staking rewards. Additionally, the foundation does not rule out the possibility of delegating staking responsibilities to other institutions in the future.
In the face of all the commotion in the community, V God firmly responded, “We are now a little better than two years ago.”
References:
cointelegraph, beincrypto