The Ethereum team is reportedly considering EIP-2025 as an enhancement during Istanbul. This move has already cause considerable controversy among developers because of the corresponding increase in inflation rate. Accordingly, the proposal has sparked both debate and backlash from a contingent of developers.
The information from the Ethereum core notes for the Ethereum Improvement Proposals (EIP) shows the same. An EIP provides information to the Ethereum community. Needless to say, blockchain platforms like Ethereum are open-source and community participation is a core part of the platform. In such a scenario, the criterion for rewards allocation is certainly a bone of contention. This is why the proposal has caught the attention of many developers.
The document for plans outlined proposals to create more ether per block for a period of 18 months. As a result, this will increase flow to a funding organization. The end result is fueling development of the Ethereum ecosystem. Essentially, EIP-2025 proposes 0.0055 ETH` per block for 18 months as a developer block reward reserved for funding Ethereum1.X development. This move will increase the block rewards within the stipulated time frame.
To the core developers, the increased liquidity in the form of block reward can be a good thing for spurring more innovation. Needless to say, not everyone shares this opinion.
Reaction from Developers
Developers were quick to jump on this information. Unsurprisingly, most of them had a negative reaction to the implication of such a move. The person who really brought it all to attention is Gnosis product researcher Eric Conner. This is because he was first to break the fact that EIP-2025 is seriously in consideration as an EIP for Istanbul. Conner contends that the move is absurd and the community should not allow it to happen.
Similarly, Spankchain CEO Ameen Soleimani took the same approach. Ameen, who runs a funding mechanism called Moloch DAO sided with the detractors of this development. This is because he believes that increasing the block rewards for this purpose will weaken the appearance of Ethereum as a store of value.
Other critical voices are: Ryan Adams, founder of crypto investment company Mythos Capital, David Hoffman, chief of operations at RealT Platform and Anthony Sassano who is with marketing for SetProtocol. They joined the voices in opposition to the increase in block rewards. Moreover, Andrew Redden, CTO at Groundhog Pay terms the whole development as “The disaster of EIP-2025.”
The Reason for Opposition
In general, most of the community developers are concerned with who gets the rewards and who manages what those rewards are used for. In the proposed EIP-2025, the platform will see extra rewards produced for 18 months and then stop. This would mean that the extra funds instead of going to miners would go to a separate organization.
As such, there are legitimate concerns as to transparency in block reward distribution. Even James Hancock, who put forward the proposal, does not provide an answer to this problem saying he ‘’do not profess to know the best way to organize these funds,”
James suggests the creation of DAO to distribute the funds to the right projects, which only has to be transparent. Regardless, he has rightfully created an important debate. This participation by the community will ultimately shape the decision making of the development team.
