In just one month, ethereum has managed to code, deploy, implement and adopt a decision while fully upholding minority rights without one metaphorical shot being fired, showcasing the full power of public blockchains and first class blockchain governance.
In just one day, ethereum dispelled all myths and arguments against public blockchain’s inherent guarantee of rights – hard forks. The main argument, that controversial hardforks are a tyranny of the majority, was proven wrong when Ethereum Classic was provided with a market, thus giving the minority their full freedom. Likewise, any suggestion that the decision was centralized can not stand when pure free choice is given to all and, technically, the argument that immutability was breached is incorrect as the thief chain continues.
Bitcoin’s Dictatorship vs Ethereum’s Democracy Mix
These arguments have been used in bitcoin’s land for more than a year, turning all concepts on their head. Specifically, the unspoken but implied argument that where there is a controversy a minority should decide upon the majority which is only possible by instituting dictatorship and, of course, as we have seen, leads to a never ending debate, a bitter split, and a community in paralysis, unable to make a decision and move on to real things.
Ethereum, on the other hand, achieved in one day what bitcoin could not achieve in more than a year. Instead of the community turning against each other into a prolonged and paralyzing civil war, ethereum’s community just allowed everyone to choose in a free market way, ending the episode and moving on towards building stuff and advancing this space.
As the chains have now fully separated and cannot be re-joined, ETC has nothing to differentiate it except for the harboring of a thief, making it just another altcoin in a sea of altcoins, with as good as no developers, with social promises of immutability it can not technically enforce as anyone can chain fork any blockchain and, overall, just a clone of Ethereum, no different than Expanse. Most, therefore, will probably just ignore it and move on to real things.
However, the listing of ETC is significant as it shows that ethereum and public blockchain’s inbuilt governance mechanism presents a real choice. Neither the majority nor the minority can force either or tell either what to do. Instead, they are both free to follow their own path and compete on equal terms.
Ethereum Can Now Move Full Steam Ahead
With the matter now resolved and everyone provided with the option they wanted, Ethereum can turn its attention to new projects and applications, much stronger than before, so having gained the backing of Coinbase, the trust of Thomson Reuters, Barclays, Microsoft, Wanxiang and others and the attention of developers.
At @coindesk @Consensus2016 hackathon: 2 @Bitcoin projects, 4@IBM/@Hyperledger projects, 17 @ethereumproject projects.
While bitcoin continues to be in paralysis lacking the announcement of even one interesting project in more than a year, Ethereum can now move full steam ahead with the month’s event passing to history as a lesson that had to be learned so that its foundations can be strengthened to such extent that one may even say: nothing can stop ethereum now.
Disclaimer: The views expressed in the article are solely that of the author and do not represent those of, nor should they be attributed to CCN.
Featured image from Ethereum.
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