Vitalik Buterin’s solution might not be the best, Chiliz CSO says

Chiliz chief strategy officer Max Rabinovitch recently discussed Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin’s efforts to address centralization in Ethereum’s verification structure.

In an interview with Crypto.news, Rabinovitch explained that while Buterin’s solutions are suitable for Ethereum (ETH), they may not be universally applicable to all networks that rely on Ethereum Virtual Machine compatibility.

Buterin’s proposed approach aims to reduce validator centralization by lowering barriers to entry for participants and limiting rewards to prevent validator consolidation.

According to Rabinovitch, this effort targets Ethereum’s unique problems. “It solves an Ethereum problem, not a universal EVM problem,” Rabinovitch said.

The industry expert emphasized that each blockchain has different needs that may not benefit from Ethereum-specific fixes.

Centralization remains a major concern for Ethereum, as only two validators are responsible for approximately 87% of block production. Rabinovitch admitted that such concentration undermines the fundamental principles of blockchain.

“With centralization comes increased risk of compromise through attack and the ability of bad actors to censor the blockchain; “Both weaknesses are essentially the antithesis of why blockchain exists to begin with.”

Rabinovitch told crypto.news Decentralization or bankruptcy?

Rabinovitch also touched on the “decentralization or bankruptcy” philosophy widely adopted in the crypto space, calling it overly simplistic.

He believes that effective decentralization can be achieved through selected participant requirements that can increase network resiliency while maintaining security.

“It is crucial to remain diverse enough that no single stakeholder can easily subvert the governance of a protocol,” he said, recommending a balance between decentralized governance and practical governance.

To reduce centralization risks, Rabinovitch proposed several alternative measures for Ethereum. These include implementing validation rules that limit how often a node can confirm blocks and incorporating operational metrics beyond pure staking requirements, such as uptime and voting consistency.

He explained that these steps could create a fairer verification space and prevent a small number of players from dominating the network.

Meanwhile, Rabinovitch acknowledged that governance optimization is a gradual and ongoing process for all blockchain protocols and that a definitive solution may not ultimately be appropriate.

“Vitalik, like everyone else working on similar problems, is doing Ethereum a service in being ready to change and innovate the network. “The real mistake here will be inaction and reluctance to change despite changing ecosystem conditions.”

Rabinovitch concluded.