The Decentralization Journey of Ethereum: From "Leaving the Test" to Risk Rating

Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin proposed an interesting concept in his blog: how to assess the degree of decentralization and security of blockchain projects. He suggested using "leaving tests" and "internal attack tests" as two methods to measure a project's reliance on centralized infrastructure and potential security vulnerabilities.

"Internal attack testing" refers to actively launching attacks on the system to observe potential damages, thereby identifying underlying issues. On the other hand, "exit testing" is an innovative thinking tool used to examine the degree of centralized dependencies of a project and network, serving as a critical indicator for assessing decentralized projects and can even evolve into a risk rating tool.

The Core Concept of "Leaving the Test"

The core question of "Leaving the Test" is: can the application still function properly if the project team and server suddenly disappear? This test aims to assess whether Web3 projects, platforms, or protocols have genuine independent operational capabilities and sustainable development value.

From the perspectives of project development, economic models, and community governance, "leaving the test" can provoke the following thoughts:

1. Project Development:

   • After the development team disbands, can the project continue to operate independently?
   • Is there an active community that can take over the project after the team leaves?
   • Is the code open source, and can it attract developers for continuous improvement?
   • Are there decentralized verification nodes or sufficient community support to maintain the network?

2. Economic Model:

   • Does the project have a sustainable operating model?
   • Does it have practical application scenarios?
   • Is the appreciation of project assets excessively reliant on speculation or centralized control?

3. Community Governance:

   • Do all participants have a fair way to participate in decision-making?
   • Can the project initiate a decision-making mechanism and solve problems without a clear core manager?
   • Is there an over-reliance on a few core members for governance, or is there a broad foundation for collective decision-making?

The Importance of "Leaving the Test"

The significance of "leaving the test" lies in revealing the actual degree of a project's or network's dependence on centralized infrastructure, promoting its improvement and optimization. This thinking tool is based on a firm philosophy of "Decentralization" technology.

Vitalik Buterin has pointed out that "Decentralization" is one of the most common concepts in the field of cryptoeconomics, but its actual meaning often causes confusion. He believes that when discussing the issue of decentralization, it actually involves three independent dimensions:

1. Centralization/Decentralization of architecture: How many computers make up the system? How many computer failures can it tolerate?

2. Centralization/Decentralization in politics: How many individuals or organizations can ultimately control the system?

3. Logical Centralization/Decentralization: Is the system's interface and data structure a single whole? Can users and providers operate independently?

Emphasizing the significance of Decentralization includes:

• Improve fault tolerance
• Enhance attack resistance
• Prevent collusion and conspiracy

Key Indicators for Evaluating Decentralization Projects

From the perspective of "leaving the test," Bitcoin can be considered to have passed this test: although Satoshi Nakamoto's identity remains a mystery, the Bitcoin network can still rely on a decentralized network and global developers to continue its development.

In the Ethereum ecosystem, Vitalik Buterin once mentioned that most Rollup projects are still not mature enough and generally adopt a support method called "Training Wheels" to ensure operation. This reflects the dependence of Rollup projects on "human intervention"; the higher the degree of dependence, the greater the risk.

Based on this observation, Vitalik Buterin and others proposed a grading scheme based on the degree of dependency on "Training Wheels" in Rollup projects. Subsequently, a data platform optimized this classification scheme through community feedback and upgraded it to the "Layer2 Risk Rating Indicator" in June 2024, to assess the risk levels of different Layer2 projects.

Vitalik Buterin stated that he hopes to see more similar entities emerge to track the actual conditions of various projects in meeting established standards or other standards proposed by the community. He believes that the competition between projects in the future will no longer be about "having the right friends," but rather about "staying aligned" as much as possible according to clear standards.

From a broader perspective, "leaving the test" has the potential to develop into a comprehensive risk rating tool for measuring the substantive degree of Decentralization and long-term sustainability of various decentralized applications such as Web3 wallets, games, and DeFi.

Just like the theory of separation of powers in political philosophy, the best solution to the question of "who supervises" is separation of powers rather than concentration of power. The project "Alliance" leads to concentration of power, while the realization of separation of powers relies on institutions and culture. In the blockchain world, this institution and culture manifest as "standards of consensus".