The recent underperformance of ETH compared to Bitcoin and Solana's resurgence has sparked intense community scrutiny. Amid concerns over Ethereum Foundation's ETH sales and budget transparency, the EF research team hosted a Reddit AMA on September 5, 2024, addressing pressing questions about ETH's valuation, roadmap execution, and ecosystem sustainability.
Key Takeaways from Ethereum Foundation's AMA
1. ETH Price Drivers and Foundation's Stance
Q: What justifies ETH's potential price appreciation in 2024?
- Dankrad Feist: Ethereum's role as a neutral financial platform for asset issuance, trading, and derivatives creation will generate value through fees or DA mechanisms. ETH's utility as trustless collateral and medium of exchange is pivotal.
- Justin Drake: "ETH is money" — its monetary premium is critical for securing decentralized stablecoins and defending against state-level attacks.
Q: Does EF prioritize ETH's price growth?
- Anders Elowsson: ETH's value aligns with Ethereum's success. Sustainable economic activity on-chain inherently boosts ETH's worth via burning and staking security.
- Justin Drake: Price growth is vital for Ethereum to become the "internet of value" settlement layer.
2. Financial Sustainability of Ethereum Foundation
Q: How long can EF operate before funds run out?
- Justin Drake: Roughly 10 years based on current reserves (~$650M ETH + fiat). Annual spending: ~$100M. ETH price volatility significantly impacts this timeline.
3. Ethereum L1 Scaling Post-Rollup Roadmap
Q: Will L1 execution scale further?
- Dankrad Feist: Parallelizing execution via zkEVM and optimizing state access could expand L1 capacity 10–1000x. Rollups will fill remaining demand.
- Justin Drake: SNARK-based EVM scaling (e.g., "native rollups") may enable unlimited programmable shards.
4. Blobs (EIP-4844) and Data Availability Market
Q: Are blob fees problematic for L2s?
- Davide Crapis: Current fee mechanisms need refinement. High blob costs would reduce L2 demand organically, balancing prices.
- Dankrad Feist: Ethereum’s DA market should prioritize scaling over short-term revenue, as L1's financial hub status will capture higher-value transactions.
5. Zero-Knowledge (ZK) Research Focus
- George Kadianakis: EF explores ZK for statelessness, signature aggregation, and L1 execution via zkEVM.
- Justin Drake: SNARKifying L1 EVM could cut verification costs to ~$1M/year, with ongoing optimizations via ASICs and formal verification.
FAQ Section
1. What happens if ETH’s price stagnates despite ecosystem growth?
EF researchers acknowledge that long-term ETH value is tied to sustainable on-chain activity. Short-term stagnation might present buying opportunities if fundamentals remain strong.
2. How does Ethereum combat transaction censorship?
The Inclusion List (IL) design decentralizes transaction inclusion, reducing reliance on centralized block builders. Proposals like FOCIL enhance anti-censorship.
3. When will EIP-4844 blobs reach full utilization?
Demand is expected to grow as rollups optimize blob usage (e.g., Base, Scroll). Patience is advised—market maturation takes time.
4. Are VDFs (Verifiable Delay Functions) still relevant?
VDFs for unbiased randomness remain a long-term goal, though current RANDAO shows no signs of manipulation. Applications like fair lotteries are emerging.
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Note: This summary compiles key insights from EF researchers; refer to the original AMA for full context.