Decentralized Governance in Ethereum

• Galaxy Digital's recent report notes that Ethereum's decentralized governance leans heavily on off-chain voting rather than on-chain Ether holder voting.

• The governance of Ethereum involves several essential stakeholders, including client teams, validator node operators, the Ethereum Foundation, and DApp developers.

Galaxy Digital's report, presented by Christine Kim, Vice President of Galaxy Digital's research division, on June 3, outlines that Ethereum's decentralized governance is predominantly guided by off-chain voting rather than relying on on-chain Ether holder voting.

The report identifies key stakeholders in Ethereum's governance process, highlighting the involvement of client teams, validator node operators, the Ethereum Foundation (EF), and decentralized application (DApp) developers.

The Significance of Stakeholders

Client teams play a vital role in Ethereum's decision-making by proposing, discussing, and implementing changes through Ethereum Improvement Proposals (EIPs).

These teams are accountable for constructing and managing the software necessary for operating and connecting to the Ethereum network.

The report also underscores the importance of validator node operators, who have the authority to accept or reject code changes made to the Ethereum network.

Validator node operators exercise their voting power by selecting the software version to use.

While the influence of the EF has decreased, it continues to support development initiatives on Ethereum as a leading nonprofit organization.

Furthermore, the report emphasizes the impact of DApp developers in molding specific features and upgrades based on user needs.

As primary users of Ethereum, DApp developers engage with the Ethereum codebase to deploy smart contract code.

Additionally, the report elucidates that off-chain governance discussions occur across various platforms, aiding in consensus-building among stakeholders.

These discussions take place in multiple forums such as Ethereum All Core Developers (ACD) calls, ETHMagicians, Ethresear.ch, Discord, and GitHub.

The report explains Ethereum's preference for off-chain governance over on-chain voting.

This preference arises from the risk of significant Ether holders exerting disproportionate influence.

According to the report, decisions within Ethereum are not subjected to voting by ETH holders through on-chain proposals or decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs).

Although challenging to audit and objectively evaluate, the off-chain governance approach helps prevent centralization and ensures nuanced decision-making.