# EIPs For Nerds: Making Ethereum Research and Development (R&D) Accessible ## What is the EIPs For Nerds series? [EIPs For Nerds](https://ethereum2077.substack.com/t/eip-research) is a research series (published on the [Ethereum 2077 blog](https://ethereum2077.substack.com/)) focused on [Ethereum Improvement Proposals](https://eips.ethereum.org/) (EIPs), including core EIPs proposed for implementation in the Layer 1 (L1) protocol and application/infrastructure-layer EIPs (ERCs). Each EIPs For Nerds article provides a comprehensive, ELI5-style overview of an EIP to educate readers and and assists in shaping consensus around the EIP by discussing potential benefits, drawbacks, and considerations associated with the EIP's implementation. EIPs For Nerds (and the Ethereum 2077 project) is entering a "pilot phase"—after a trial run between December and January to create a proof of concept—to further solidify its position as an education hub for anyone interested in learning about Ethereum's protocol development. For this phase, EIPs For Nerds will focus heavily on EIPs considered for inclusion in upcoming hard forks, particularly the Prague/Electra upgrade. Already, the blog has published in-depth explainers two EIPs ([EIP-7002](https://ethereum2077.substack.com/p/eip-7002-execution-layer-exits) and and [EIP-7251](https://ethereum2077.substack.com/p/eip-7251-increase-max-effective-balance)) currently proposed for Prague/Electra based on [this forum post](https://ethereum-magicians.org/t/prague-electra-network-upgrade-meta-thread/16809/1). There is no hard rule guiding selection of EIPs that are covered in the EIPs For Nerds series. Nonetheless, Ethereum proposals featured in the EIPs For Nerds series will typically fulfil some basic criteria: (1) The EIP proposes novel solutions to existing problems (2) Adoption of the EIP has significant implications for the core protocol and the wider ecosystem (3) Implementation of the EIP will be beneficial for Ethereum and the Ethereum community. The list of EIPs currently scheduled for coverage in the EIPs For Nerds series includes: * [EIP-7547: Inclusion lists](https://eips.ethereum.org/EIPS/eip-7547) * [EIP-7503: Zero-Knowledge Wormholes](https://eips.ethereum.org/EIPS/eip-7503) * [EIP-6110: Supply validator deposits on chain](https://eips.ethereum.org/EIPS/eip-6110) * [EIP-4788: Beacon block root in the EVM](https://eips.ethereum.org/EIPS/eip-4788) * [ERC-5564: Stealth Addresses](https://eips.ethereum.org/EIPS/eip-5564) * [EIP-7441: Upgrade block proposer election to Whisk](https://eips.ethereum.org/EIPS/eip-7441) * [EIP-4444: Bound Historical Data in Execution Clients](https://eips.ethereum.org/EIPS/eip-4444) * [ERC-7281: Sovereign Bridged Tokens](https://ethereum-magicians.org/t/erc-7281-sovereign-bridged-tokens/14979) * [EIP-6968: Contract Secured Revenue on an EVM based L2](https://eips.ethereum.org/EIPS/eip-6968) * [ERC-5164: Cross-Chain Execution](https://eips.ethereum.org/EIPS/eip-5164) * [EIP-7265: Circuit Breaker Standard](https://ethereum-magicians.org/t/eip-7265-circuit-breaker-standard/14909) * [EIP-5920: PAY opcode](https://eips.ethereum.org/EIPS/eip-5920) * [ERC-3643: T-REX - Token for Regulated Exchanges](https://eips.ethereum.org/EIPS/eip-3643) * [EIP-7377: Migration Transaction](https://eips.ethereum.org/EIPS/eip-7377) * [EIP-5003: Insert Code into EOAs with AUTHUSURP](https://eips.ethereum.org/EIPS/eip-5003) * [EIP-5639: Delegation Registry](https://eips.ethereum.org/EIPS/eip-5639) * [EIP-3074: AUTH and AUTHCALL opcodes](https://eips.ethereum.org/EIPS/eip-3074) * [EIP-6913: SETCODE instruction](https://eips.ethereum.org/EIPS/eip-6913) * [ERC-7092: Financial Bonds](https://eips.ethereum.org/EIPS/eip-7092) * [EIP-6780: SELFDESTRUCT only in same transaction](https://eips.ethereum.org/EIPS/eip-6780) * [RIP-7560: Native Account Abstraction](https://ethereum-magicians.org/t/rip-7560-native-account-abstraction/16664) **Note**: The above is a tentative list—research plans for EIPs may change according to different factors, especially given the rapid pace of Ethereum R&D. Nevertheless, the ultimate goal for the EIPs For Nerds series is to deliver at least **one** EIP explainer for readers of Ethereum 2077 every week. ## What is the motivation behind EIPs For Nerds? A [*Newsletter From The Future…About Ethereum’s Future*](https://ethereum2077.substack.com/p/announcing-ethereum-2077-newsletter) highlights the overarching objectives for Ethereum 2077: (1) Chart the future of Ethereum’s infrastructure and protocol development, and (2) Bring awareness of Ethereum research and development (R&D) efforts to a wider audience. A [section of the article](https://ethereum2077.substack.com/i/139391469/whats-that-eiperc) also explains the rationale for focusing on Ethereum Improvement Proposals (EIPs); much of the original content is still relevant—arguably, the biggest difference between the time of writing both articles is the "EIPs For Nerds" naming—so I'll copy-paste it here for context: > The original idea was (and still is) to write regular deep dives on specific Ethereum Improvement Proposals (EIPs) for public consumption. EIPs are a critical driver of upgrades to Ethereum’s infrastructure but many EIPs don’t get enough attention—except for those EIPs that manage to bubble up into mainstream consciousness either because: > > - The EIP is controversial and generates a lot of debate (looking at you, EIP-1559) > - The EIP is significant enough to receive attention from influencers and thought leaders (e.g., EIP “four-eight-four-four”) > - The EIP is close to getting implemented in an upcoming hard fork (posts with “ERC-4337” in their title must have tripled in the months before the Entry Point contract’s launch).  > > To illustrate, I once had the equally enlightening and amusing experience of attending a meeting to discuss content marketing for a particular hard fork and asking, “wait, aren’t there other EIPs considered for inclusion in the hard fork?”, after seeing one EIP dominate most of the conversation. From the reactions, it was easy to tell that the other EIPs had received little consideration and rarely came up in previous conversations. Seeing as I myself barely knew anything about the other EIPs, I had to do a lot of research before coming back to (successfully) make the case for highlighting other EIPs in the marketing campaign. > > This experience stayed with me long after the original discussion ended, and after seeing only a few projects working towards improving community awareness of proposed EIPs—with exceptions of efforts like EIP Insights and regular updates on new EIPs from the folks at [EtherWorld](https://etherworld.co/tag/ethereum/) and [Week In Ethereum News](https://weekinethereum.substack.com/)—I increasingly got the feeling that creating more educational resources around new Ethereum standards proposed for adoption was something that needed to be done.  > > Currently, there are no selection criteria for which EIPs get a deep dive on Ethereum 2077; even so, it’s safe to predict EIPs that improve different parts of Ethereum’s infrastructure and protocol stack and promise to add value to the ecosystem will receive more attention. And, because I’ll be writing about these proposals as I learn about them (as a “lowercase r researcher”), I can (hopefully) make these guides as easy to read and understand as possible for both the crypto-curious, just-learning-about-Ethereum individuals. Since writing that article back in December, I've thought some more about the rationale for a research series focused on Ethereum Improvement Proposals and discovered other motivating factors beyond the rationale described in the original post. Most of these ideas appeared after working on a PoC for the Ethereum 2077 project, and experiencing the eureka moment that birthed the decision to call the research series "EIPs For Nerds": **"NERDS"** is a backronym for "No One Ever Really Reads Client Developer Specifications" (it's not the coolest backronym in the world, but hear me out. This reflects the understanding that most people, especially individuals without technical backgrounds, may be unwilling to read through the EIP document due to the heavy emphasis on technical details. The EIPs For Nerds series attempts a simpler explanation of EIP specifications, which is helpful for individuals (researchers, developers, implementers, and other members of the community) that want a deeper understanding of an EIP without necessarily having to read through the formal EIP spec first. [EIPs For Nerds #1: ERC-7512 (On-Chain Representation For Security Audits)](https://ethereum2077.substack.com/p/a-guide-to-erc-7512-on-chain-representation) is an example of how explainers published in the EIPs For Nerds series can help bring awareness of proposed Ethereum standards to individuals that may otherwise remain unaware of these proposals because no one has tried to explain the EIP in reader-friendly, easy-to-understand fashion. This article not only provides background for ERC-7512, but also relates the solution proposed by the EIP (on-chain verification of audits) to problems faced by the average Ethereum user (difficulty of completing due diligence on projects due to unavailability of verifiable audit data). **"Nerds"** (in lowercase) also reflects the understanding that certain parts of the audience, especially individuals with intermediate (above-average) technical knowledge, want something more than a quick summary of an EIP. This may be for different reasons—for example, because an EIP has more significant implications for the individual as a business owner/product builder or end-user. In this case, the reader has higher standards for what constitutes a "useful educational resource" on an EIP and is more likely to find value in content that provides a detailed overview of the considerations associated with the EIP's implementation/adoption. EIPs For Nerds targets these types of readers, which is observable from the level of detail that each article displays. For example, [EIPs For Nerds #2: EIP-7002 (Execution Layer Triggerable Exits)](https://ethereum2077.substack.com/p/eip-7002-execution-layer-exits) provides historical context for the validator withdrawal mechanism, but also discusses the newer risk vectors that may appear after execution-layer exits (triggered by a validator's withdrawal credentials) become active. This type of overview ensures anyone whom the EIP affects—solo stakers, institutional staking services, and staking pools—can make informed decisions based on the EIP. [EIPs For Nerds #3: EIP-7251 (Increase MAX_EFFECTIVE_BALANCE)](https://ethereum2077.substack.com/p/eip-7251-increase-max-effective-balance) is a similar example of how readers can benefit from a holistic overview that includes both the immediate and second-order effects of adopting a particular EIP. In short, anyone who has interest—with the level of interest varying according to the individual reader persona—in an EIP can read an EIPs For Nerds article and learn the most important details of that proposal and use that information for specific purposes (e.g., advocating for a particular feature to be implemented in the protocol or deciding to contribute to adoption/implementation of an EIP). ## What is the projected impact of the EIPs For Nerds series? > What are the most important problems in your field, and why aren't you working on them? — Richard Hamming > EIPs For Nerds is a solution to a problem that exists today: a dearth of educational resources around Ethereum Improvement Proposals (EIPs) proposed for adoption by the ecosystem or activation on the base layer. Except for a few "popular" or controversial EIPs that get a lot of press, many draft EIPs fail to garner attention from and thus cannot gain the support from developers working on upgrades as well as the community of users that will benefit from those proposals.  Moreover, where certain EIPs are discussed in blogs/articles, it's often the case that authors may leave out more specific, technical details of an EIP and focus on the high-level details (e.g., proposed benefits) of the EIP. While this approach is useful for readers that simply want to "skim" and have no interest in the finer details of an EIP, readers that *do* want answers to specific questions about an EIP's inner workings are left without any option—except to try and read through comments on forums like Etheresear.ch and [The Fellowship of Ethereum Magicians](https://ethereum-magicians.org/), or follow a trail of comments scattered across crypto-Reddit, Twitter, and other online platforms. Both require a non-trivial amount of effort, which makes it hard for such readers to truly understand how an EIP works and discourages efforts to learn more about mission-critical work undertaken by protocol/client developers. As a technical-writer-cum-researcher, I'm naturally inclined to learning as much as possible about a topic before writing on it (read: *obsessed with diving down rabbit holes*). Thus, in the case of writing articles for the EIPs For Nerds series, I can afford to offer a comprehensive explanation of the key aspects of an EIP's specification and explain the rationale for different design decisions made by an EIP's author(s). For example, the recently published [EIPs For Nerds #3 (Increase MAX_EFFECTIVE_BALANCE)](https://ethereum2077.substack.com/p/eip-7251-increase-max-effective-balance) goes into detail of the major changes to the Beacon Chain's design associated with increasing the maximum effective balance and uses illustrative examples to communicate the advantages of those changes. <img align="center" width="100%" src="https://hackmd.io/_uploads/SyA_qP4Kp.png"> Additionally, I have a background in journalism (studied Communications in college for 4+ years before dropping out to focus on writing) and favor providing readers with a balanced perspective on proposals covered in the EIPs For Nerds series. Thus, instead of focusing solely on an EIP's benefits, the articles also dedicate attention to discussing the potential drawbacks of proposed standards. While providing readers with unbiased coverage is more involved (i.e., because I have to search for arguments against implementing an EIP or criticisms of an EIP’s weaknesses), I believe it's necessary for readers to be able to make decisions about the proposed tradeoffs/advantages of an EIP.   By publishing in-depth, unbiased research on various EIPs, the EIPs For Nerds project is able to contribute to shaping public sentiment and consensus around proposals; improve end-user awareness of proposals that are worth championing; and promote Ethereum's vision of credible neutrality by explaining the motivating factors behind each EIP. Ideally, protocol developers and EIP authors will be able to rely on content from the EIPs For Nerds series to educate the community about mission-critical protocol design decisions and communicate the implications of network upgrades to the community effectively and transparently. > *I don't write to persuade; I write to figure out. I write to persuade a hypothetical perfectly unbiased reader. — Paul Graham* ## How and why I should support EIPs For Nerds and the Ethereum 2077 project? <img align="center" width="100%" src="https://hackmd.io/_uploads/SydFjvNKa.jpg"> Research-heavy, long-form technical writing—the type featured in the EIPs For Nerds series—is difficult to scale and expensive to produce. This explains why Delphi Digital, Messari, Blockworks, and other crypto research publications, are more likely to put their most comprehensive, insightful articles behind a paywall. Research platforms need to pay writers for spending valuable time and mental energy on learning and communicating fairly technical concepts in a way that average readers can grasp without needing a Comp. Sci. degree. The [starving artist](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Starving_artist) trope has nice narrative value, but starving artists don't live long enough to continue creating great work and have a lower net benefit to society). **That said, Ethereum 2077 is and will always be a public good, which means no paywalls and no requirements for readers to subscribe before reading articles in the EIPs For Nerds series.** Ethereum R&D was built on the ideals of [open science](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_science), which is why discussions around proposed changes to the protocol take place on public forums like the [Fellowship of Ethereum Magicians](https://ethereum-magicians.org/) and Etheresear.ch—where everyone can participate—and not in a closed boardroom ([All Core Developers Calls](https://github.com/ethereum/pm?tab=readme-ov-file#allcoredevs-meetings-overview) are Ethereum's equivalent of a boardroom discussion, but [meeting transcripts are are publicly available](https://github.com/ethereum/pm?tab=readme-ov-file#previous-allcoredevs-meetings)). Not everyone will exactly be capable/willing to follow highly technical conversations, but holding these discussions publicly increases the chance that someone capable/willing of following the discussion and communicating the main details in ELI5 language to those in the former group (e.g., yours truly) will have the information they need to complete the task. If Ethereum 2077 wants to "make Ethereum R&D accessible", then keeping it free for readers is a logical step. However, the complex and demanding nature of technical writing/research makes this a difficult decision and creates a dilemma: "How do we keep operating Ethereum 2077 a public good, whilst making sure of long-term financial sustainability—knowing that we can only offer value to the audience to the extent that we're able to "keep the lights on" and produce high-quality research content consistently?" Fortunately, the Ethereum community has shown an impressive willingness to financially support projects deemed valuable to the ecosystem (arguably the largest and most successful individual (self-coordinated) public goods funding experiment in modern history). So, I'm optimistic about the prospects of resolving the previously described tradeoff and balance doing meaningful work with financial sustainability while working on EIPs For Nerds and the larger Ethereum 2077 project. Public goods funding in crypto is, admittedly, often retroactive in the spirit of "we don't know what will be useful, but we know can gauge a project's current/future usefulness based on how useful it was in the past". But this approach results in a [chicken-and-egg](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicken_or_the_egg) problem, especially in the context of a research project like Ethereum 2077, where scaling output and network effects is difficult (an example: research and writing for [EIPs For Nerds #3: EIP-7251 (Increase MAX_EFFECTIVE_BALANCE)](https://ethereum2077.substack.com/p/eip-7251-increase-max-effective-balance) required ~50 hours, spread across weeks). Notwithstanding this constraint, the Ethereum 2077 blog has consistently published educational content since the newsletter's launch in November—showing the potential impact of sustaining research output in the long-term: **Ethereum 2077: EIPs For Nerds research series** - [EIPs For Nerds #1: ERC-7512 (On-Chain Representation For Security Audits)](https://ethereum2077.substack.com/p/a-guide-to-erc-7512-on-chain-representation) - [EIPs For Nerds #2: EIP-7002 (Execution Layer Triggerable Exits) ](https://ethereum2077.substack.com/p/eip-7002-execution-layer-exits) - [EIPs For Nerds #3: EIP-7251 (Increase MAX_EFFECTIVE_BALANCE)](https://ethereum2077.substack.com/p/eip-7251-increase-max-effective-balance) **Ethereum 2077: Protocol R&D articles** - [Data Availability Or: How Rollups Learned To Stop Worrying And Love Ethereum](https://ethereum2077.substack.com/p/data-availability-in-ethereum-rollups) - [Verkle Trees For The Rest Of Us: Part 1](https://ethereum2077.substack.com/p/verkle-trees-for-the-rest-of-us-part-1) If you're reading this, and want to contribute (financially or otherwise), please don't hesitate to reach out. I'm happy to provide more details about long-term plans and more granular details of the project's execution—or really, do anything necessary to help answer the question: "Will funding the EIPs For Nerds project have a positive net benefit for everyone involved?" Besides supporting Ethereum 2077's ongoing work to educate the community about proposed Ethereum standards, funding will unlock opportunities for improving the value of EIPs For Nerds for readers. For example, a long-term plan is to broaden out and cover [Rollup Improvement Proposals (RIPs)](https://github.com/ethereum/RIPs) created for Layer 2 (L2) protocols and the EVM rollup ecosystem. ### Who's behind EIPs For Nerds and the Ethereum 2077 project? <img align="center" width="100%" src="https://hackmd.io/_uploads/rJK0pPEY6.png"> I'm Emmanuel Awosika ([Twitter](https://twitter.com/eawosikaa), [GitHub](https://github.com/emmanuel-awosika), [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/emmanuelawosika/)), and I started the Ethereum 2077 research publication to make Ethereum research and development (R&D) accessible to everyone. I believe Ethereum is credibly neutral in the eyes of the wider community to the extent that the average person—not just experts with technical backgrounds—can understand the technology and the rationale for proposed changes to the protocol, especially if said changes have far-reaching implications for users. This is why I started Ethereum 2077 to provide in-depth overviews of new Ethereum Improvement Proposals (EIPs) and break down the complex aspects of upgrades on Ethereum's future roadmap. Currently, Ethereum 2077's work is broadly scoped in two areas:  - [EIPs For Nerds](https://ethereum2077.substack.com/t/eip-research): These are in-depth explainers on specific EIPs considered to have significant impact/value for the ecosystem) - [Protocol development content](https://ethereum2077.substack.com/t/protocol-development): These are articles on aspects of Ethereum (Layer 1/Layer2) R&D that do not fit into the EIPs For Nerds section, for example, because they are upgrades planned for activation at some point in the future.  Before starting Ethereum 2077, I contributed to a major overhaul of Ethereum.org between 2022 and 2023 and received a Power Contributor award (for opening 25+ pull requests) for my contributions. Some of my major contributions include creating several pages highlighting use-cases of Ethereum's technology on the Ethereum.org portal: - [Decentralized social networks](https://github.com/ethereum/ethereum-org-website/pull/6020) - [Decentralized identity](https://github.com/ethereum/ethereum-org-website/pull/6082) - [Zero-knowledge proofs](https://github.com/ethereum/ethereum-org-website/pull/6890) - [Public goods funding](https://github.com/ethereum/ethereum-org-website/pull/7732)  Additionally, I dedicated effort towards revamping Ethereum.org's developer education portal by: - Creating new pages to resolve open requests for content (some dating as far back as 2020):  - [Smart contract upgrades](https://github.com/ethereum/ethereum-org-website/pull/6020) - [Formal verification](https://github.com/ethereum/ethereum-org-website/pull/6394) - [Data availability](https://github.com/ethereum/ethereum-org-website/pull/6621) - [Source code verification](https://github.com/ethereum/ethereum-org-website/pull/6575) - Expanding/revising existing content to improve depth and quality (e.g., expanding the ZK-rollups page to include an overview of ZK-EVMs)  - [ZK-rollups](https://github.com/ethereum/ethereum-org-website/pull/6752) - [Validiums](https://github.com/ethereum/ethereum-org-website/pull/6502) - [Smart contract security](https://github.com/ethereum/ethereum-org-website/pull/6082)  - [Optimistic rollups](https://github.com/ethereum/ethereum-org-website/pull/6732) - [Blockchain oracles](https://github.com/ethereum/ethereum-org-website/pull/7290) - [State channels](https://github.com/ethereum/ethereum-org-website/pull/6636) - [Plasma](https://github.com/ethereum/ethereum-org-website/pull/6636) - [Sidechains](https://github.com/ethereum/ethereum-org-website/pull/6508) - [Smart contract security](https://github.com/ethereum/ethereum-org-website/pull/7616) - [Smart contract testing](https://github.com/ethereum/ethereum-org-website/pull/8362) A full list of my contributions to Ethereum.org can be found [here](https://github.com/pulls?q=is%3Amerged+is%3Apr+author%3Aemmanuel-awosika+archived%3Afalse+org%3Aethereum). [This interview](https://www.web3creators.com/stories/web3-needs-writers-who-can-make-the-case-for-the-technology-and-defend-it-against-detractors) (note: very early in my career as a technical writer, but overall ideas are still true for me today) provides a rough overview of my motivations as a writer/researcher focused on Ethereum/web3. In short, I believe Ethereum's adoption depends on the extent to which people know how the technology works, why it matters, and how to remain safe while using it—which is why I've focused for the past two years on creating easy-to-understand and accessible content that explains topics related to crypto infrastructure and security. In a past life, I used to work as a freelance technical content writer and wrote for companies building products and services in the Ethereum ecosystem to create educational content targeted at users and developers. You can find examples on my [personal website](https://eawosika.com/portfolio), [Bio Link page](https://emmanuelawosika.bio.link/), and [LinkedIn profile](https://www.linkedin.com/in/emmanuelawosika/), but I'll list some of the ones I'm proud of here: - [Account Abstraction: Past, Present, Future](https://metamask.io/news/latest/account-abstraction-past-present-future/) (MetaMask) - [The Developer’s Guide to the Web3 Stack](https://blog.infura.io/post/the-developers-guide-to-the-web3-stack) (Infura) - [The Diligence Security Tooling Guide For Developers](https://consensys.net/diligence/resources/security-tooling-guide/) (Consensys Diligence) - [Charting The Web3 Security Landscape](https://consensys.io/diligence/blog/2023/05/charting-the-web3-security-landscape/) (Consensys Diligence) - [What Is A zkEVM?](https://linea.mirror.xyz/qD18IaQ4BROn_Y40EBMTUTdJHYghUtdECscSWyMvm8M) (Linea) - [Modular vs. Monolithic Blockchains](https://www.alchemy.com/overviews/modular-vs-monolithic-blockchains) (Alchemy) - [Trustless Bridges And The Future Of Cross-Chain Communication](https://www.infura.io/blog/post/why-blockchain-interoperability-needs-trustless-bridges) (Infura) - [Interoperability For Modular Blockchains: The Lagrange Thesis](https://medium.com/@lagrangelabs/interoperability-for-modular-blockchains-the-lagrange-thesis-41352740914f) (Lagrange) In *another* past life, I used to put my Communications education to good use by writing opinion pieces on blockchain-related topics in my free time. I believe the best kind of writing is one that presents a logical, coherent, and consistent point of view and encourages readers to take a stance on the topic of discussion I don't do op-eds anymore, but some of my writing today is still opinionated to an extent—so I'm including these here in case that helps with understanding the approach to writing the EIPs For Nerds series: - [The Case For Privacy Coins](https://fullycrypto.com/the-case-for-privacy-coins) (FullyCrypto) - [How Rational Optimism Fuels Belief In Crypto](https://fullycrypto.com/how-rational-optimism-fuels-belief-in-crypto) (FullyCrypto) - [Can Bitcoin Fix Micropayments?](https://bitcoinmagazine.com/business/can-bitcoin-fix-micropayments) (Bitcoin Magazine) - [Why Are Blockchain Bridges Burning?](https://fullycrypto.com/why-are-blockchain-bridges-burning) (FullyCrypto) - [The Future Of Web3 Is Multi-Chain](https://www.infura.io/blog/post/the-future-of-web3-is-multi-chain) (Infura) - [What Is Progressive Decentralization?](https://eawosika.com/what-is-progressive-decentralization-web3) - [Ethereum Has A Client Diversity Problem](https://hackernoon.com/ethereums-client-diversity-problem) (HackerNoon) - [CBDCs Are A Very Bad Idea](https://hackernoon.com/cbdcs-are-a-very-bad-idea) (HackerNoon) - [Why All the Hate for NFTs?](https://fullycrypto.com/why-all-the-hate-for-nfts) (FullyCrypto) Why did I leave freelance writing and switch to running a research publication, despite the lack of a clear-cut business model and opportunities for monetization? One answer: *agency*. I wanted to put my skills in service of a bigger vision, and contribute positively and meaningfully to Ethereum—not stand on the sidelines and watch others working to move the protocol and its community forward. (Contributing to Ethereum.org already achieved this goal, but starting an independent project like Ethereum 2077 allowed for more flexibility in choosing what type of projects I wanted to execute.) > *For a long time, I was content to be the knife that others wielded. But lately, old wizard, I have felt more like the hand than the knife. My whole life, I have reacted to things. Rarely acted. So, yes I have changed. I have agency in this world. I can create futures. God is good. I wonder what I will do next. — Isaac *(*[Castlevania](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castlevania_(TV_series))*) Plus, working non-stop to create disposable income to XYZ Inc. loses its shine over time, especially if you just happen to love to what you do *immensely*, and see it more as more than an endeavor to add an extra zero to the company's bottom-line. This line of reasoning appeared after a series of life events—including getting fired from my first and last full-time position as a technical writer (after spending a grand total of two months)—and fueled a renewed desire to *truly* commit to playing my part in Ethereum's long-term development, growth, and adoption. > *Focusing your life solely on making a buck shows a poverty of ambition. It asks too little of yourself. And it will leave you unfulfilled. — Barack Obama* And that's it. Connect with me via Twitter [@eawosika](https://twitter.com/eawosikaa) and [email](mailto:awosikaemmanuel@outlook.com) and don't forget to subscribe to the [Ethereum 2077 newsletter](https://ethereum2077.substack.com) for in-depth explainers of cutting-edge advancements in Ethereum R&D.
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Emmanuel Awosika
Technical writer + researcher (Ethereum R&D). Learning machine. Crazy genius.
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Keep Ethereum governance scrappy, fun, and chaotic

I originally posted this article as a thread on Twitter after seeing calls for the ACD to implement a conflict-of-interests policy because of fears of governance capture (mostly related to the events leading up to the inclusion of EIP-3074 in the Pectra fork). While I think it’s important to defend Ethereum governance against the threat of adversarial actors, excessively formalizing governance processes risks creating unintended consequences and eroding Ethereum’s ethos of decentralization, credible neutrality, and permissionless participation.The thread goes into detail around the problems with prematurely implementing a conflict-of-interest policy for core Ethereum researchers and developers. Josh Davies suggested turning the thread into a blog post to make the content easier to share and reference—an idea I thought was worth exploring. The “article” reproduces the content from the original post on Twitter and only makes edits for grammatical mistakesI failed to catch in the original post. Hope you enjoy reading it!The calls I’m seeing for the ACD to implement a "conflict-of-interest" policy (as part of the debate around EIP-3074) is evidence we still haven't grasped Ethereum's essence. Spoiler: Ethereum isn't your average VC-backed project that looks no different from your Silicon Valley startup.Ethereum is first and foremost an open-source software project run by hundreds of people who just showed up one day and said "I don’t know who you are, but you look serious about building for decentralization and slaying Moloch—let's collaborate and build cool tech together." Sure, you have a few "coordinating entities" like the Ethereum Foundation, Ethereum Magicians, etc., but those organizations are loosely organized and don't even fit the picture of a traditional top-down organization.That means Ethereum's governance and research/development process can be very scrappy and disorganized (@EthCatHerders’ motto is "bring the minimum order that chaos needs to move forward" for a reason). It doesn’t always operate smoothly and efficiently like people want (or expect), especially when research proposals/governance decisions have implications for the million-dollar businesses built on top of the core protocol.But the scrappiness and disorganization and loose decentralization and prioritization of "rough consensus" over formal approaches like on-chain governance or off-chain voting in Ethereum is a feature, not a bug. Not only does the lack of excessively formal procedures and bureaucracy reduce the barrier to participation (no one monopolizes special knowledge and benefits from information asymmetries), but it makes Ethereum resistant to capture and several edge cases that projects with more "polished" structures for governance often face.For instance, I’ve pointed out that a conflict-of-interest policy doesn't even help you detect bad actors that wish to capture the governance process. Worse, enforcing a COI policy for core developers and researchers can have unintended consequences:

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