Man... I really think that the kinks in the armor are starting to show. Three recent Vitalik-only datapoints:
  1. This "what if ETH wasn't around anymore" tweet poll https://nitter.net/VitalikButerin/status/1481737970562789376#m
  2. "In defense of BTC Maxis" essay
  3. The tweet shared above
That's not to mention all the nasty stuff core devs are saying e.g. this one
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Have you read his "In Defense of Bitcoin Maximalism" essay?
He's a closet Bitcoin Maxi.
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Yeah, and he went on a shitcoiner show to talk about that essay, if you really want to go down this specific rabbit hole
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We should welcome him. There's no use rubbing his nose in it. Converted maxis are some of our best maxis.
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Hmm... Doubt. But sure. I assign that outcome a 5% probability at this point though.
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"Contradiction between my desire to see Ethereum become a more Bitcoin-like system emphasizing long-term stability and stability, including culturally, and my realization that getting there requires quite a lot of active coordinated short-term change."
There's a reason Bitcoin only accepts very conservitive BIPs and has made the design choices that it has eh?
"Contradiction between my dislike of many modern financial blockchain "applications" ($3M monkeys etc), and my grudging appreciation for the fact that that stuff is a big part of what keeps the crypto economy running and pays for all my favorite cool DAO/governance experiments."
Yo even Vitalik doesn't like the NFTs lol
"Contradiction between my desire for crypto to grow beyond finance and my realization that finance (incl payments+SoV) is still by far the most successful category of crypto apps, especially among third-world residents, human rights activists and vulnerable people generally."
Yeah, Bitcoin won didn't it? No one is even trying to be money anymore except for old Bitcoin. Such a stable thing is what you want in money too isn't it?
Vitalik realizing Eth gives birth to fads and scams, and Bitcoin is the stable rock that reliable things are built upon (the thing he wanted Ethereum to be) is really hitting hard for him eh?
But hey, he's an engineer at the end of the day right? He just wanted to make something cool, but now the cool thing he made needs to die.
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I call dibs on him being stuck not knowing what to do with eth development. Speciality "now" that everyone is waiting for that PoS magic to solve every problem.
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In addition to the technical concerns of a PoS move, it will unleash a torrent of regulatory / legal issues vis-a-via "Howie Test / Securities" discussion.
This Gordian-knot of issues: (a) Gas fees, (b) Miner dissatisfaction, (c) Legal ramifications, and (d) Will It Work? provides a terrible risk profile, so I completely understand his reluctance to move forward and continual kicking can down the road strategy.
As it stands, if everything else goes "perfect" it probably still doesn't fix the gas fee issue...it seems to be a no-win situation frankly.
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Yeah and that miners might hard fork eth because they won't get rewards under PoS
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Might be transition for ETH to become the SoV thing
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It would seem that way
His article on April fools day seemed genuine
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YOU DON'T CHANGE BITCOIN. BITCOIN CHANGES YOU
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