# Tracking Ethereum Like an Insider | Christine Kim (Protocol Watch) at ETHConf

- Speakers: [Christine Kim](https://streameth.org/speakers/christine-kim)
- Channel: [ETHGlobal](https://streameth.org/ethglobal)
- Date: 2026-07-09
- Duration: 21:29
- Topics: Protocol Watch, Christine Kim, ETHConf, Ethereum governance, ACD calls, All Core Devs, EIPs, EIP-1, EIP-7723, CFI, PFI, SFI, DFI, headliner process, Fusaka, client teams, Reth, Besu, Geth, Ethereum Foundation, client diversity, informal governance, supermajority, Bitcoin core development, JSON RPC, lean roadmap, quantum security, ACD Toolkit, BTC Toolkit, Substack, insider tracking, decentralization theater, credible neutrality, censorship resistance, transparency, verifiability
- Watch: https://streameth.org/watch/yt-zC-tAO0CHak
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zC-tAO0CHak

## Description

In this talk, Christine Kim from Protocol Watch shares the framework she has used for 8 years tracking Ethereum development and governance, including years running the ACD Toolkit and covering Ethereum's All Core Devs calls. She was one of the first people to regularly cover ACD calls, now runs an independent Ethereum development newsletter and a Bitcoin development newsletter, hosts a podcast on both, and operates a research and advisory firm helping businesses building on the two chains. She frames her insider approach around three foundational questions: how does Ethereum governance work, who are the key players, and where and when do they meet to make decisions.

Christine explains that Ethereum governance is like an onion. The outer formal layer is defined by EIPs like EIP-1 (defining the EIP process) and EIP-7723 (labels for CFI, PFI, SFI, DFI status), which AI can help summarize. The harder and more important part is the informal layer, the unwritten norms driving decisions. She notes that on ACD calls each client team gets an equal vote regardless of whether they have 40% or 1% market share, and that contentious decisions require supermajorities whose thresholds shift with the level of contention. She emphasizes that governance itself evolves rapidly, pointing to the new headliner process introduced only in the Fusaka upgrade. On the "who" question, she pushes past treating stakeholders categorically (validators, developers, users, client teams) to look at who individuals actually work for and how their companies are funded. Most Ethereum client teams were seeded and funded by the Ethereum Foundation, which explains its historical leadership, and as the EF narrows focus the funding sources for client diversity are opening up. On the "where," she highlights the three ACD calls as the most important decision-making forum, noting the cadence has evolved from once every two weeks pre-merge to twice weekly today as developers push toward two upgrades a year. Christine explains she deprecated the ACD and BTC toolkits earlier this year not because the framework was wrong, but because static written posts were suboptimal and her readers mostly wanted actionable insights rather than the underlying research process. She closes by challenging the room to apply her framework to at least one protocol, arguing it reveals whether a protocol is genuinely decentralized or engaging in "decentralization theater" with multisigs and federations, and helps identify the real values (transparency, verifiability, accountability) driving each blockchain's differentiation.

00:00 Introduction
00:11 Christine's Track Record
01:12 Launching the ACD and BTC Toolkits
01:36 The Three Questions Framework
02:15 Ethereum Governance as an Onion
02:41 The Formal Layer: EIPs and Labels
04:07 The Informal Layer: Unwritten Norms
04:29 How Client Team Votes Actually Work
05:26 Supermajorities for Contentious Decisions
06:17 How Governance Itself Evolves
06:43 The Headliner Process in Fusaka
07:38 Beyond Categorical Stakeholders
08:34 Looking Deeper at Who Funds Client Teams
09:19 Why the Ethereum Foundation Seeded Client Diversity
09:47 What Happens as the EF Narrows Focus
10:40 Being in the Room Where Decisions Happen
11:34 The Three ACD Calls
11:54 How the Cadence Has Evolved Over Time
12:48 Twice Weekly Coordination Today
13:11 Breakout Calls for Long Term Roadmap
13:38 Why ACD Calls Are More Accurate Than X
14:22 The People, Places, and Process
14:46 Applying the Framework to Bitcoin
15:16 Why Christine Deprecated the Toolkits
15:39 The Medium Was Suboptimal
16:09 Readers Wanted Actionable Insights
17:34 A Call to Apply the Framework
18:14 Questioning the True Value of Protocols
19:05 Decentralization Theater
19:54 What Are the Real Ends of Decentralization
21:01 Closing and Resources

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _  

*ETHConf 2026*
ETHConf is a 3 day event for founders, industry leaders, and builders who are excited about the possibilities of building on top of Ethereum.

Connect with 2,000+ top innovators in crypto, finance, technology, and policy at our inaugural three-day event packed with showcases, demos, partnerships, and conversations shaping the future of the global economy.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _  

✅ *Follow ETHConf*
X: https://x.com/ethconf
Website: https://ethconf.com

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _  

🎟️ Get your early bird tickets for ETHConf 2027: https://ethconf.com/2027#tickets
🎤 View the full ETHConf 2026 Speaker Schedule: https://ethconf.com/schedule

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _