Sui/CETUS Hack Aftermath: Top Experts Grapple With Ideals vs. Real PoS System Practicalities
More blockchain experts are now joining the decentralization debate following the SUI team’s direct intervention in the aftermath of the CETUS DEX multi-million dollar exploit.
Monad’s co-founder, James Hunsaker, has responded directly to from Anatoly Yakovenko, who stated that a blockchain solution cannot be decentralized if a minority group can unilaterally block the majority from making changes or functioning.
James Hunsaker of Monad highlighted the complexities associated with forking blockchain solutions as a minority group, noting that such classifications depend on stakes in Proof-of-Stake (PoS) blockchains.
According to Hunsaker, stakes concentrate highly among a small group of insiders in most chains. Hence, just forking a chain may not be enough for the minority groups, except they are good at “social shaming.”
Both blockchain experts, Yakovenko and Hunsaker, continued their exchange, highlighting the complex nature of the PoS blockchain governance system. For instance, Yakovenko stated that most forks don’t work because the majority is doing the right thing for the users, not because the minority is powerless to do the right thing.
The Solana co-founder also put a lot of weight on the role of users in blockchain networks. According to Yakovenko, it’s the users who ultimately hold all the demands, not necessarily just those with the biggest stakes. He also believes in user coordination since user demand is power-law distributed, meaning a vocal and coordinated user base can wield significant influence. James Hunsaker, in turn, noted how external factors can influence users’ decisions. For instance, he thinks users will stick with forks that Circle and Tether will honor.
It’s worth noting that this ongoing, high-level debate, brought on after the SUI team’s decisive actions after the CETUS DEX hack, reignited a critical review of one of blockchain’s most fundamental, yet often fuzzily defined, elements: decentralization.
Discussions about what true blockchain decentralization means, and what tradeoffs are acceptable, might seem academic until a real-world crisis hits, like the recent CETUS DEX hack hack. These are real-world scenarios when teams struggle to balance between short-term user protection against governance ethics.
Such debates could continue or resurface under similar circumstances until the blockchain community reaches a consensus or strikes an acceptable balance between governance and security.