Vitalik Buterin's In-Depth Analysis: The Ethereum (ETH) Ecosystem Needs Clearly Aligned Values

The thriving development of the Ethereum ecosystem benefits from its diverse participants, including client teams, researchers, Layer 2 (L2) teams, application developers, local community organizations, and more. Each of them holds a vision for the future of Ethereum and collectively drives the progress of this vast network. However, this decentralized collaboration model also brings a core challenge: how to ensure that all these independent projects can collaboratively build a unified Ethereum ecosystem, rather than 138 incompatible little kingdoms? To tackle this challenge, many in the Ethereum ecosystem have proposed the concept of "Ethereum alignment."

However, Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin pointed out that this concept has historically been vaguely defined and could bring about risks of social control: if coordination only means "being with the right people," then the concept of "coordination" has already failed. To address this issue, Vitalik believes that the concept of coordination should be made clearer by breaking it down into specific attributes that can be represented by specific indicators.

1. Clear Values: The Core Element of Ethereum Coordination

Vitalik proposed a set of values that the Ethereum ecosystem needs to clearly align with, and provided specific metrics for it:

Open Source (Open Source):

Value: The code can be audited to ensure security; reduces the risk of proprietary technology lock-in and allows permissionless third-party improvements.

Criteria: While not every part of every application needs to be fully open source, the core infrastructure components that the ecosystem relies on should absolutely be open source. The gold standard is the Free Software Foundation's definition of free software and the Open Source Initiative's definition of open source.

Open Standards (Open Standards):

Value: Strive for interoperability with the Ethereum ecosystem, and build based on existing open standards (e.g., ERC-20, ERC-1271, etc.) as well as standards under development (e.g., account abstraction, cross L2 transfers, L1 and L2 light client proofs, upcoming address format standards).

Evaluation criteria: If new features need to be introduced, they should collaborate with others to draft a new ERC. Applications and wallets can be evaluated according to their compatible ERC standards.

Decentralization and Security (Decentralization & Security):

Value: Avoid trust points, minimize censorship vulnerabilities, and reduce reliance on centralized infrastructure.

Measurement Criteria:

"Retreat Test": If your team and server disappeared tomorrow, would the application still be available?

"Internal Attack Test": If your team attempts to attack the system, how much would it damage, and how much harm could it cause?

An important formal test is the Rollup phase of L2beat.

正和性 (Positivity)：

Contributions to Ethereum: The success of the project should benefit the entire Ethereum community (such as ETH holders and Ethereum users), even if they are not part of the project ecosystem itself. Specific examples include using ETH as a token (thereby enhancing its network effects), contributing to open-source technology, and committing to donate a portion of tokens or revenue to public goods in the Ethereum ecosystem.

Contribution to a broader world: The goal of Ethereum is to make the world freer and more open, enabling new forms of ownership and collaboration, and making positive contributions to the significant challenges facing humanity. Has the project made progress in this regard? Examples include applications that bring sustainable value to a wider audience (e.g., financial inclusion), donations to public goods beyond Ethereum, and technologies that can be practically applied outside the crypto space (e.g., funding mechanisms, universal computer security).

2. Measurement and Incentives: Promoting Coordinated Development of the Ecosystem

Vitalik emphasized that not all of the above applies to every project. The criteria for projects such as Layer 2, wallets, and decentralized social media applications will differ significantly. Different criteria may also change in priority: two years ago, Rollup was still acceptable with "training wheels" because it was still in the "early stages"; today, we need to enter at least stage 1 as soon as possible. Currently, the clearest positive-sum indicator is the commitment to donate part of the tokens, which more and more projects are practicing; in the future, we may also find indicators for measuring positive-sum in other aspects.

Vitalik's ideal goal is to see more entities like L2beat emerge, tracking the performance of various projects in meeting the aforementioned standards as well as other standards proposed by the community. He believes that competition among projects will no longer be about getting along with the "right friends," but rather striving to maintain consistency under clearly understandable standards as much as possible. The Ethereum Foundation should maintain a certain distance from these activities: we can provide funding for L2beat, but we should not become L2beat. Creating the next L2beat is itself a permissionless process.

This will also provide a clearer path for the Ethereum Foundation and other organizations (as well as individuals) interested in supporting and participating in the ecosystem, helping them decide which projects to support while maintaining neutrality. Each organization and individual can make judgments based on the criteria they value most and choose projects that align with those standards. This not only allows the Ethereum Foundation but also enables others to be part of the incentive to maintain consistency in the projects.

Three, Separation of Powers: Avoid Centralization Risks

Vitalik emphasized that a system can only truly become an optimal selection system when the definition of "capability" is clear; otherwise, it is likely to turn into an exclusive and zero-sum social game. Regarding the concern of "who supervises the supervisors", the best solution is not to rely on all influential people being "angels", but to employ time-tested technologies, such as separation of powers.

Dashboards organizations like L2beat, blockchain explorers, and other ecosystem monitors are excellent examples of this principle at work in today's Ethereum ecosystem. If we can further clarify the coordination of different aspects without concentrating all power in a single "supervisor," we can make this concept more effective and embody it in the fair and inclusive manner that the Ethereum ecosystem strives for.

Conclusion:

Vitalik Buterin's in-depth analysis of the values of the Ethereum ecosystem points the way for this large and complex network. Through clear open source, open standards, Decentralization and security, and positive-sum core values, and by establishing measurable indicators, Ethereum is expected to achieve more efficient and coordinated development while maintaining its spirit of Decentralization. This not only aids the healthy growth of the Ethereum ecosystem but also provides valuable insights for the development of the entire Web3 industry.