Panel I The Ethereum Governance Process with Christine Kim | Pragma New York 2023

Mon, Oct 2, 2023, 12:00 AM

Christine Kim, VP of Research at Galaxy Digital, breaks down the complexities of Ethereum’s governance in this in-depth session at Pragma New York 2023. Learn how Ethereum upgrades happen, who the key stakeholders are, and why the governance model has evolved far beyond Bitcoin’s classic trilemma of developers, miners, and nodes. Christine explains the roles of the Ethereum Foundation, client teams, validator node operators, and dApp developers, while also detailing how proposals like EIP-4844, EIP-7514, and Cancun-Deneb are shaped and debated. Gain insights into how decisions are made on ACD calls, through GitHub, EthMagicians, and Discord, and why protocol upgrades are becoming slower but more critical. Whether you're a builder, researcher, or stakeholder, this talk is a must-watch for understanding Ethereum’s decentralized coordination and the future of its upgrade process. 00:00 Introduction to Ethereum governance 00:37 Agenda overview and disclaimer 01:12 Bitcoin governance model explained 05:30 Why Ethereum governance is different 06:43 Ethereum’s diverse developer base 07:49 Validators vs node operators 10:14 Challenges in identifying Ethereum node users 10:49 Ethereum’s four key governance actors 11:24 Role of the Ethereum Foundation 13:44 Ethereum client teams and core devs 15:20 Validator node operators and upgrade influence 18:52 Motivations behind validator behavior 19:22 Importance of dApp developers in governance 22:12 Governance decision-making forums 24:00 GitHub’s role and centralization concerns 25:06 History of Ethereum upgrades 26:06 Governance evolution post-merge 26:40 Cancun-Deneb upgrade timeline 27:13 EIP-7514 and validator set growth 28:58 Call for broader governance participation 29:34 What’s next: Prague-Electra upgrade 30:37 Why upgrades are getting more complex 31:12 Final thoughts and closing remarks _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 🇺🇸 *Pragma New York* The fifth edition of Pragma took place in New York in September 2023 with a curated series of high-quality talks that sparked thought and discussion. Pragma is a one-stage conference with founders-only on stage, bringing together a small group of curated attendees and speakers to discuss the future of web3 and reflect on the past. Watch the full Pragma New York 2023 playlist here: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXzKMXK2aHh6xsRbmx2niHEDyOyt1mddu&si=6Ic960b2hQyz9RGw ETHGlobal's Pragma series takes place in cities around the world, and is designed to be a different kind of event. Ever since we first introduced our new event series, Pragma, in Tokyo in the spring of 2023, we have been fostering a curated, global community of individuals who deeply care about web3. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ✅ *Follow Kartik Talwar* X: https://x.com/therealkartik Warpcast: https://warpcast.com/kartik ✅ *Follow ETHGlobal* X: https://x.com/ETHGlobal​ Warpcast: https://warpcast.com/ethglobal Website: https://ethglobal.com YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/ETHGlobal _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _Are you interested in Ethereum development and entrepreneurship?_ 👉 Sign up for the next ETHGlobal event: https://ethglobal.com/events 🎁 Get exclusive access and perks with ETHGlobal Plus! https://ethglobal.com/plus 📣 Want us to throw an event in your city? Tell us where! https://ethglobal.com/city _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _