The co-founder of Ethereum, Vitalik Buterin, recently expressed concerns about the centralization drawbacks of the Proof of Work (PoW) system previously used. This sparked a debate within the Ethereum community, with some members preferring to stick with PoW instead of transitioning to Proof of Stake (PoS).

The discussion was initiated by Amanda Cassatt, CEO of Serotonin, who highlighted the risks of centralization and power imbalances associated with Ethereum's shift to PoS. She mentioned that the PoS system eliminated the initial checks and balances, resulting in more centralized validation processes.

Buterin joined the conversation by pointing out the centralization present in Ethereum's PoW system. He emphasized that although PoW was also centralized, it was less apparent compared to PoS. Buterin supported his argument with a chart illustrating the control various Ethereum miners had under the PoW consensus mechanism.

The chart revealed that Spark Pool controlled 33% of the mining power, while Ethermine held 21%. Other significant miners included Zhizhu.top, Nanopool, and F2Pool.

Buterin also mentioned that Ethereum's transition to PoS aimed to eliminate the need for significant investments in ASICs. The move to PoS, which occurred in September 2022, saw validators stake 32.5 million ETH tokens in the Beacon Chain stake contract, amounting to over $101.5 billion.

Vitalik Buterin's acknowledgment of PoW's centralization issues has garnered attention in the crypto world, contrasting with the views of some Ethereum community members who preferred to stay with PoW.