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Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has published a lengthy blog post warning of the dangers of “stretching” the Ethereum consensus beyond its core block validation and network protection functions.
Ethereum consensus is the process by which blocks are validated through a Proof-of-Stake mechanism, implemented in September 2022 through a “merge.”
In a May 21 blog post titled “Don’t Overload the Ethereum Consensus,” Buterin warned that using the Ethereum network consensus for other purposes could lead to “high systemic risks to the ecosystem and should be discouraged and resisted.”
The co-founder of Ethereum, in fact, advocated the preservation of the minimalism of the blockchain.
Don’t overload Ethereum’s consensus: https://t.co/07tzyCrZcJ
— vitalik.eth (@VitalikButerin) May 21, 2023
Buterin noted that over the years there have been several proposals or ideas that suggested using Ethereum social consensus for other purposes such as price and data oracles, restaking initiatives, and using Tier 1 soft forks to restore Tier 2 projects if they have there is a problem.
“There is a natural desire to try to expand the core of the blockchain with more and more functionality, because the core of the blockchain has the biggest economic weight and the biggest community watching it, but every such extension makes the core itself more fragile.”
However, Buterin said that a certain subset of these methods could lead to “high systemic risks” to the ecosystem, such as bugs or a deliberate 51% attack.
Some high-risk examples include the creation of ETH/USD price oracles, in which ETH holders or validators can be bribed to vote, which could lead to a “spill of bad participants’ money” in case of disagreement.
However, he acknowledged the need for better oracles, offering a tailor-made approach because the various problems are “inherently so different” from each other.
Overall, Buterin said that any expansion of the “duties” of the Ethereum consensus increases the costs, complexity, and risks of running a validator.
Related: Buterin evaluates the impact of zk-EVM on decentralization and security
Application layer projects “taking actions that risk expanding the ‘scope’ of blockchain consensus to anything other than verifying the ground rules of the Ethereum protocol” should be treated with caution, he said, before summarizing:
“Instead, we should keep the network minimal, support the use of retries that don’t look like slippery slopes to expand the role of Ethereum consensus, and help developers find alternative strategies to achieve their security goals.”
The Ethereum consensus mechanism switched from proof of work to proof of stake last September. Additionally, staked Ethereum has just been released for withdrawal with the Shapella update on April 12th. This explains the increased focus on the role of the validator and security risks in the world’s largest smart contract network.
