Who Owns Ethereum Now? The Dark Side of Proof-of-Stake Protocols

With the attention on energy usage reduction, what will become of decentralization?

It’s been a little over a week since the Ethereum Merge, and already the ripples are starting to show. Energy usage is down, even more than expected, according to a report commissioned from the Crypto Carbon Ratings Institute (CCRI). The CCRI report from “Ethereum-centric software firm ConsenSys, claims that Ethereum now uses approximately 99.99% less energy than before the merge was completed. It also suggests the blockchain’s carbon footprint has dropped by just over 99.99% as well,” in an article featured on DeCrypto. Impressive numbers considering decreased energy usage was one of the major goals, and potential successes, of the Merge.

However, the Proof-of-Stake verification mechanism is beginning to reveal its inherent weaknesses, particularly in regard to the very thing crypto is designed to support: decentralization.

There has been ado about Ethereum’s shift to Proof-of-Stake. The majority of commentary has been celebration of improved climate impact mixed with intense scrutiny regarding the implications of the Proof-of-Stake protocol on regulation categories, network security and effects on centralization of influence and decision-making power.

It’s almost odd that this conversation about centralization, security and regulation has only just reached a fever pitch because Ethereum…