Ethereum's Dying? NFTs Say Hold My Beer (and My JPEG)

Meet the guy who believes Ethereum’s one foot in the grave. Okay, boomer blockchain. While the Cardano founder’s been busy making pronouncements from his digital throne, the NFT community's reaction is less "panic" and more "is this guy serious?"

Let’s face it, this is not the first time anyone has announced Ethereum’s death. We've heard it all before. This time, it feels different. Perhaps it’s the blustering hubris of claiming ETH will be worthless in a decade or so. Which might explain why the NFT world, the one that perhaps first made Ethereum visible to many who weren’t diehard crypto nuts, is understandably rolling its eyes. Maybe that’s why the reaction has been so extreme.

Is Ethereum's Consensus Model Flawed?

Hoskinson's main gripe? Ethereum's protocol and consensus model. He’s not just a fan of Delegated Proof of Stake (DPOS) – so is Sui network. In fact, he believes Ethereum’s Proof of Stake is a ticking time bomb.

Ethereum is constantly evolving. As exciting as the Merge was, that change didn’t mark an end point and the network is anything but static. Are there challenges? Absolutely. High gas fees, scaling problems – we’ve heard this story before. The NFT community isn't blind.

To claim Ethereum’s new consensus model is an existential threat? That’s as absurd as saying Mario Kart is doomed to failure because it lacks realistic driving simulation physics. It misses the point. Ethereum’s strength goes well beyond technical superiority. It’s vibrant community and the millions of projects already built on its platform, further it’s power.

Some projects are exploring other blockchains. Solana's been a popular alternative, and Cardano, naturally, is waving its arms, shouting, "Come on over, we have on-chain governance!"

NFT Projects Ditching Ship Already?

We shouldn’t kid ourselves into believing that this is some kind of great sortino—an exodus beyond compare. A majority of these NFT projects integrate heavily with the rest of the Ethereum ecosystem. They’ve begun to base their communities, their smart contracts, and really their whole ecosystem / brand on top of it. Endnote Migrating is a technical, resources-intensive, risky endeavor, not an easy whim.

That would be akin to switching from PlayStation to Xbox in the middle of a tournament. Even though the new shiny console has all the new features, you’ve developed an emotional attachment to your old console. Your friends, your progress, and your muscle memory are all linked to it. Well, are you going to just build something fresh from the ground up?

SERP data can seem intimidating. Most of these migrations are less about technical superiority and more about pursuing the hype and the lower fees for a quick buck. It's the crypto equivalent of trend-hopping.

Hoskinson’s other big bugaboo is governance – or absence of it. He envisions on-chain governance, the idea being that the community should vote on everything.

But What About Ethereum's Governance?

Okay, Charles. That sounds great in theory. But have you ever gotten a big diverse group of smart people to agree on anything – let alone the best way forward on five topics. It’s even worse than herding cats, because the cats come equipped with their own keyboards and closely-held opinions regarding block sizes.

Ethereum’s governance may be fractitious and chaotic, but that has forced and permitted an unprecedented level of flexibility and innovation. It's a more organic, bottom-up approach. Is it perfect? No. Yet it’s potentially more flexible than a strict, on-chain voting framework.

Ethereum vs. Cardano: It's like comparing apples and oranges. Cardano has its strengths, Ethereum has theirs. Declaring Ethereum dead in October 2022 would’ve been equally shortsighted. That’s like saying that the whole fruit industry is going to fail because apples are going out of style.

Look, the NFT space is constantly evolving. New platforms open up, new technologies come on the scene and new opportunities arise every day. So if you’re not tuned in, you’re out of luck.

Don’t let FOMO push you into impulsive actions. So do your homework, educate yourself about the risks these emerging technologies and industries pose, and invest—in projects and platforms that reflect your values. And ignore everyone who says the fix is in.

Ethereum is not the be all and end all, and far from its challenges are many. It’s also a pretty cool, dynamic, crazy ecosystem, a lot of innovation happening here and a great community of passionate people. The NFT universe is not going to turn tail and run at the first shout of “Iceberg!”

So, Charles, with all due respect, the NFT community has one thing to say: Hold our beer (and our JPEG). We're just getting warmed up.

First person to mint an Ethereum’s Not Dead Yet NFT should go for it. I'd buy that.

Ethereum might not be perfect, and it certainly faces challenges. But it's also a vibrant, innovative ecosystem with a passionate community. The NFT world isn't about to abandon ship just because someone yells "Iceberg!"

So, Charles, with all due respect, the NFT community has one thing to say: Hold our beer (and our JPEG). We're just getting warmed up.

And by the way, someone should definitely mint a "Ethereum's Not Dead Yet" NFT. I'd buy that.