Amidst a decline in Ethereum prices and heightened community discussion, Consensys co-founder Joseph Lubin publicly defended Vitalik Buterin, stating that he remains the most important contributor and guardian of the Ethereum ecosystem. The controversy not only points to Buterin's personal choice but also reflects growing public attention on the current state of the Ethereum Foundation.
The controversy stems from a novel on the theme of governance.
Buterin is currently writing a science fiction novel about decentralized governance, and has already published the first two chapters on his personal website. The report mentions that the novel is set in a fictional country and involves mechanisms such as double voting and AI-assisted decision-making.
This work aims to discuss the limitations of DAOs through a fictional narrative, including issues such as financial imbalances. However, this approach has sparked controversy within the crypto community, with some members publicly expressing their dissatisfaction.
Foundation changes amplify community sentiment
The timing of this discussion is rather sensitive. Besides the significant drop in Ethereum's price, the Ethereum Foundation has also recently drawn attention due to the departure of core members. Reports indicate that nine core members have left the foundation.
Amidst market pressures and organizational changes, Buterin's focus on novel writing was seen by some community members as incompatible with the current ecological situation, further amplifying the related controversies.
Lubin emphasizes Ethereum's long-term positioning.
Lubin stated unequivocally that anyone who believes Buterin's novel writing is not an effective way to drive Ethereum's growth and adoption is missing the point. He described Buterin as "an extremely effective communicator."
Lubin believes that these creations centered around privacy and cypherpunk themes are not out of step with Ethereum's long-term direction. He also stated that the world still needs a digital asset settlement platform with trustworthiness, neutrality, censorship resistance, open-source nature, and privacy features, and the Ethereum Foundation remains the most suitable organization to uphold this vision.
