Solana co-founder Anatoly Yakovenko has criticized ethereum’s layer-2 network, ZKsync, for still operating as a multisig system despite claims of community-led governance.
In a x.com/aeyakovenko/status/1834266261028839507″>mail On x (formerly twitter), Yakovenko argued that the same “honest majority” assumptions apply to ZKsync because legal or technical control of its system could easily fall under the jurisdiction of a court, compromising its decentralization.
According to him:
“A US bankruptcy judge could have enough token holders to create a quorum and enough of the ‘professional security council’ and order them to take all bridged assets under the control of a bankruptcy trust.”
His comments were in response to Alex Gluchowski, co-founder and CEO of Matter Labs, the team behind ZKsync. Gluchowski had claimed that the network’s new decentralized governance system was not a multi-signature setup and that it was taking “a critical step towards Stage 2.”
Stage 2 refers to a transition from partial to full decentralization. At this stage, trust is placed entirely in the blockchain code and algorithms, ensuring that the system is open, secure, and resistant to manipulation.
It is worth noting that no ethereum Layer 2 network is fully in Stage 2 of its decentralization development.
Decentralized governance
On September 12, Gluchowski x.com/gluk64/status/1834256489097130188″>announced that the ZKsync governance system is now up and running.
The system introduces a three-body structurewhich includes the ZK Token Assembly, a group of token holders who delegate their voting power to delegates. These delegates can submit and vote on protocol, token, and governance upgrade proposals.
According to the team:
“This is perhaps the most important facet of the system: token holders and their delegates can initiate ordinary upgrades to the ZKsync protocol directly on-chain, rather than relying on a single multisig.”
Meanwhile, delegates will also have legal protection through the ZKsync Association, a non-profit, owner-free organization that addresses personal liability issues.
The second part of the governance structure is the ZKsync Security Council, which consists of engineers, auditors, and security professionals. The Council has the power to actively review and approve protocol updates, freeze the protocol, and push out any urgent updates that are required.
However, their power is limited as they cannot unilaterally submit and approve updates.
Finally, ZKsync Guardians ensure that governance proposals adhere to the principles of the ZK Creed. They have veto power and act as a check on other governance bodies.
The three governance entities (the Token Assembly, the Security Council, and the Guardians) collaborate to review and execute proposals such as ZKsync improvements, token programs, and governance advisory changes. The Token Assembly can submit proposals, which the Guardians can veto if necessary, and the Security Council must approve protocol updates.
Essentially, this structure prevents individuals or groups from having unilateral control over proposals and updates.
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(tags to translate)ethereum
