Ethereum Co-Founder Claps Back at PoS Critics Amid Upcoming Merge

Ethereum co-founder described a critic’s view as an “unmitigated bare-faced lie” while sharing his opinions on proof-of-stake (PoS) voting.

While some believe that Ethereum’s upcoming move to proof-of-stake (PoS) may propel the platform to eventually overtake Bitcoin (BTC), others are taking this opportunity to make snarky comments on Twitter, prompting a rebuttal from Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin.

In a tweet, Bitcoiner Nick Payton called out “Proof of Stakers” and argued that voting to change the properties on PoS platforms proves that PoS assets are securities.

Buterin responded to the post, describing Payton’s notions as an “unmitigated bare-faced lie.” According to Buterin, PoS does not include voting on protocol parameters, just like proof-of-work (PoW) doesn’t. Buterin also explained that nodes reject invalid blocks in both PoS and PoW.

Last week, author Jimmy Song also came after PoS, questioning the decentralization of the consensus mechanism. According to Song, the mechanism doesn’t solve the Byzantine generals problem. Buterin called out Song’s notions in a tweet:

“Pro-tip: if there’s a long-established tradition of people debating A vs B based on deep arguments touching on math, economics and moral philosophy, and you come along saying “B is dumb because of a one-line technicality involving definitions”, you’re probably wrong.”

Fellow Ethereum founder and PoS proponent Charles Hoskinson also gave his take, saying that the “level of stupid” in Song’s tweet is “beyond explanation.”

Meanwhile, Vivek Raman, a decentralized finance researcher, offered positive thoughts on the upcoming Merge. In a Twitter thread, Raman said that the change to PoS gives Ethereum the economic structure to challenge Bitcoin’s supremacy in the crypto space.

In early July, Ethereum completed a major trial for the Merge on the Sepolia test network, pushing the platform closer to a shift to PoS consensus mechanism. Developers mentioned that although there are some minor issues, they will not delay the Merge.

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