{"id":6587,"date":"2023-08-16T09:09:37","date_gmt":"2023-08-16T09:09:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/metaschool.so\/articles\/?p=6587"},"modified":"2023-08-16T10:09:25","modified_gmt":"2023-08-16T10:09:25","slug":"buterin-admits-ethereum-l2-blockchains-have-backdoors","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/metaschool.so\/articles\/buterin-admits-ethereum-l2-blockchains-have-backdoors\/","title":{"rendered":"Decentralization too good to be true? Vitalik admits all Ethereum L2s have \u2018backdoors\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_56_1 ez-toc-wrap-left counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title \" >Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/metaschool.so\/articles\/buterin-admits-ethereum-l2-blockchains-have-backdoors\/#What_does_Buterin_mean_by_training_wheels\" title=\"What does Buterin mean by training wheels?\">What does Buterin mean by training wheels?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/metaschool.so\/articles\/buterin-admits-ethereum-l2-blockchains-have-backdoors\/#Division_in_the_Web3_space\" title=\"Division in the Web3 space\">Division in the Web3 space<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/metaschool.so\/articles\/vitalik-buterin-ethereum-profile\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Vitalik Buterin<\/a>, founder of <a href=\"https:\/\/metaschool.so\/blockchains\/ethereum\">Ethereum<\/a>, has recently admitted that Ethereum-based <a href=\"https:\/\/metaschool.so\/articles\/layer-2-crypto\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Layer-2<\/a> blockchains and <a href=\"https:\/\/metaschool.so\/articles\/zk-rollups-zero-knowledge-rollups\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">rollups<\/a> have &#8216;backdoors&#8217;, raising major concerns about the decentralization of the system.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As of today, there are some 14 active Layer-2 blockchains that are based on the Ethereum network, including big names like <a href=\"https:\/\/metaschool.so\/blockchains\/polygon\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Polygon<\/a>. How is this going to impact the ecosystem?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u2705 <strong>Popular Polygon course:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/metaschool.so\/courses\/build-your-own-web3-twitter-dapp-with-solidity\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Build your own web3 Twitter dApp with Solidity<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In a video posted by Chris Blec, an advocate of decentralization, Buterin clearly mentions that these backdoors serve as training wheels for the Ethereum network. However, it deeply compromises the ideology of blockchain technology which clearly states that it is <a href=\"https:\/\/metaschool.so\/articles\/immutable-blockchain\/\">immutable<\/a> and decentralized.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed aligncenter is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Vitalik acknowledges that all Ethereum L2s have \u201cbackdoors\u201d.<br><br>I\u2019ve obviously been saying this for years.<br><br>These L2s are run by large corps and they\u2019ll eventually face regulation.<br><br>They\u2019ll never be sufficiently decentralized.<br><br>It\u2019s big banking 2.0.<br>  <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/eYpZB7ER6N\" target=\"_blank\">pic.twitter.com\/eYpZB7ER6N<\/a><\/p>&mdash; Chris Blec (@ChrisBlec) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ChrisBlec\/status\/1691077050394619905?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">August 14, 2023<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Buterin\u2019s 23-second video on Twitter had divided the crypto community into two distinct groups &#8211; those who see no problem with the the announcement and those who consider it as a threat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"what-does-buterin-mean-by-training-wheels\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_does_Buterin_mean_by_training_wheels\"><\/span>What does Buterin mean by training wheels?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Backdoors are a mechanism that allow developers to intervene and modify the protocol in case of bugs and other issues. Vitalik has been referring to this mechanism as <em>training wheels<\/em>, insinuating that these are temporary measures that will be removed once an L2 blockchain grows more mature and secure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>While it seems perfectly innocuous, Web3 enthusiasts fear that crypto regulations in different countries will exploit L2 blockchains through these backdoors and won&#8217;t let them achieve complete decentralization.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"division-in-the-web3-space\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Division_in_the_Web3_space\"><\/span>Division in the Web3 space<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Such a claim coming from a giant like Ethereum is definitely not a common occurrence. It holds a lot of weightage. While a group of blockchain enthusiasts may think of it as no biggie, they can\u2019t disagree with the fact that this was definitely a shocker.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Blec, who shared the video on his Twitter on August 14, further shared that L2 solutions based on Ethereum are not decentralized enough to prevent manipulation by corporations and the state.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>\ud83d\udc49 Check this out:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/metaschool.so\/courses\/create-a-horoscope-web3-nft-application\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Create a Horoscope Web3 NFT Ethereum Application<\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>On the same thread on Twitter, some argued that <a href=\"https:\/\/metaschool.so\/blockchains\/bitcoin\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Bitcoin<\/a> also had training wheels and that achieving decentralization is an end-goal with a slow process. To this, Blec responded that Ethereum L2 works differently.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed aligncenter is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">You missed that he also said \u201ctraining wheels\u201d.<br><br>Even <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/Bitcoin?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#Bitcoin<\/a> had training wheels.<br><br>I was there and I remember living through both centrally managed Bitcoin chain rollbacks (inflation bug and database bug).<br><br>Don\u2019t expect a kid to be an adult while still in his infancy.<\/p>&mdash; Barnabas Debreczeni (@keo) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/keo\/status\/1691275361743675392?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">August 15, 2023<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Some crypto heads came up with different examples and explanations in the defense of Ethereum network. For example, <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/arixoneth\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Arixon.eth<\/a>, a DeFi analyst gave their two cents and shared that L2 blockchains always have the choice. They gave the example of dydX, rollups that have reached a point where they are no longer dependent on Ethereum&#8217;s main chain for security, meaning the training wheels do not exist in such roll ups. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Moreover, they also mention that there is always an approval system like dydX has a 2-day time lock, meaning that the community has to approve of a new upgrade and if it doesn&#8217;t approve, it can always bridge off.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>By using this example, the analyst tries to prove that the Ethereum network is still quite decentralized. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed aligncenter is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">There are rollups today that have taken off the training wheels and the other rollups will follow too. dYdX is already mostly green and for upgrades there is a 2d timelock so if you don&#39;t like something you can bridge off. How is that not sufficiently decentralized? <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/vF6dKErZPG\" target=\"_blank\">pic.twitter.com\/vF6dKErZPG<\/a><\/p>&mdash; arixon.eth \ud83e\udd87\ud83d\udd0a\ud83d\udee1\ufe0f (@arixoneth) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/arixoneth\/status\/1691096779910152193?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">August 14, 2023<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>While different opinions are being formed, the ball is eventually in the court of the stakeholders and blockchains enthusiasts.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":6603,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"neve_meta_sidebar":"","neve_meta_container":"","neve_meta_enable_content_width":"","neve_meta_content_width":0,"neve_meta_title_alignment":"","neve_meta_author_avatar":"","neve_post_elements_order":"","neve_meta_disable_header":"","neve_meta_disable_footer":"","neve_meta_disable_title":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[71],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6587","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-trending-web3"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/metaschool.so\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6587","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/metaschool.so\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/metaschool.so\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/metaschool.so\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/metaschool.so\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6587"}],"version-history":[{"count":14,"href":"https:\/\/metaschool.so\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6587\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6615,"href":"https:\/\/metaschool.so\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6587\/revisions\/6615"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/metaschool.so\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6603"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/metaschool.so\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6587"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/metaschool.so\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6587"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/metaschool.so\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6587"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}