48% of Ethereum Blocks Face Censorship From OFAC-Compliant Flashbots
For a couple of years now, MEV-Boost relays or Flashbots have become popular tools in order to gather the maximum value that can be extracted from Ethereum’s block production. However, in recent times, Flashbots have been controversial as people believe the technology threatens Ethereum’s censorship-resistance. This is because Flashbots account for 48% of blocks that are compliant with government-enforced regulations. Nakamoto Coefficient or Government Coefficient? — Crypto Users Complain That OFAC-Compliant Flashbots Have Stained Ethereum’s....
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The minting of OFAC-compliant Ethereum blocks on a daily basis has grown to 73%, adding to the community's growing censorship concerns. Considering that protocol-level censorship is deterrent to the crypto ecosystem's goal of highly open and accessible finance, the community has been keeping track of Ethereum’s growing compliance with standards laid down by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). Over the last 24 hours, the Ethereum network was found to enforce OFAC compliance on over 73% of its blocks.Ethereum sporting 73% OFAC-compliant blocks. Source: mevwatch.info In Oct. 2022,....
Bons noted that even with 50% OFAC compliance among Ethereum validators, blocks will still be produced within 30 seconds. Ethereum bulls have hit back against claims the network has become prone to censorship post-Merge, with one arguing that “not even a single” transaction has been censored on the network. In a 19-part thread to his 29,100 followers on Oct. 17, Cyber Capital founder and CIO Justin Bons argued that contrary to “what some Bitcoiners are falsely claiming,” not a single transaction on Ethereum has been stopped as a result of Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctions.....
One month after the Merge, MEV-boost relays expanded its market share as block builders, data shows. One month after the Merge, 51% of Ethereum blocks were compliant with OFAC standards, according to blockchain development Labrys' data, as MEV-Boost relays take over market share. On Twitter, users highlighted how the figures represent a milestone towards censorship, as more blocks are under surveillance:We reached another sad milestone in censorship: 51% This means if the censoring validators would now stop attesting to non-censoring blocks they would eventually form the canonical, 100%....
BitMEX, too, highlighted the need for a complete redevelopment of Flashbots or a similar system to mitigate unforeseen complications in an era after the Merge. Following the completion of The Merge upgrade, Ethereum (ETH) transitioned into a proof-of-stake (PoS) consensus mechanism, helping the blockchain become energy efficient and secure. However, mining data reveals Ethereum’s heavy reliance on Flashbots — a single server — for building blocks, raising concerns over a single point of failure for the ecosystem.Flashbots is a centralized entity dedicated to transparent and efficient....
Marathon, one of the biggest bitcoin mining dedicated companies in the U.S. and Canada, has mined the first OFAC compliant bitcoin block, only accepting transactions that comply with the directives of this government office. This has caused a stir in libertarian circles, that argue this can be the start of censorship in the bitcoin blockchain at a mining level. Marathon Mines the First OFAC Compliant Bitcoin Block Marathon, a North America-based mining company, has mined the first OFAC compliant bitcoin block yesterday, that only included KYC validated transactions and excluded....