For weeks now, Ethereum miners and developers have not agreed on the future of the blockchain network. The controversial Ethereum Upgrade Proposal (EIP) 1559 has pitted the two groups on opposite sides. However, a new proposal from a prominent miner seeks to find a middle ground between the two warring factions.
EIP-3368 was written by Michael Carter, one of the most influential Ethereum miners, popular for his YouTube channel, Bits Be Trippin. He proposes increasing the block reward from the current 2 Ether to 3 Ether and starting a decay program for the next two years. This reward will decay with each block until it reaches 1 Ether after 4,724,000 blocks.
In a YouTube follow-up video, Carter told his 57,000 subscribers that his new proposal is not to enrich the miners. Rather, he is fully interested in ensuring that miners are incentivized enough to ensure that the Ethereum network is secure.
“It is a by-product of the security ecosystem, the economic incentive that maintains that network, and when you attack it, you are reducing its security profile. You are literally maintaining the security profile of a network through an incentive. So when that incentive changes, the security model changes. They are an integral part of each other, "he said.
Miners, developers and users divided over EIP-3368
Tim Beiko, one of the most influential Ethereum developers, shared the EIP on Twitter. However, he noted that the proposal has yet to be accepted by the Ethereum community. "It has only been proposed and it seems to be the most tangible thing that has emerged from the miners' talks in recent weeks."
Coming out of my twitter break to share this: miners ’“ counter proposal ”to 1559 is EIP-3368, which would raise the block reward to 3 ETH and lower it to 1 ETH over ~ 2 years. @BitsBeTrippin should present it at the next AllCoreDevs. @EthMagicians thread: https://t.co/CLxc30AUPf
– Tim Beiko | timbeiko.eth (@TimBeiko) March 12, 2021
The proposal has received support from some factions of the industry, especially the miners. It would increase your gas tariff income by 50%. Red Panda Mining, the miner who started the social media movement in which miners pledged to rebel against EIP-1559, is among its supporters. He revealed that he has withdrawn from the "show of force" on April 1.
As Crypto report reported, on this day, most miners had committed to directing their hashing power to Ethermine, a mining pool that is opposed to the upgrade.
We have been heard. EIP-3368 has been proposed. Reward to 3 ETH but drops 0.25 every quarter till 1 ETH over 2 years. I am going to rescind from the show of force to @etherchain_org April 1st and so should all of you (unless you were already on ethermine)
– Red Panda Mining (@RedPandaMining) March 13, 2021
However, not everyone in the Ethereum community is behind EIP-3368. Some miners have vowed to continue their planned revolt on April 1. They believe that the new proposal does not do enough to protect their interests.
“What we need now is an alternative currency to focus on building to replace eth. For GPU mining… sooner rather than later ”, one of them declared .
In Ethereum Magicians, a community platform for the second-largest cryptocurrency, the debate was just as heated. Some told the miners that they believe they are maximizing profits at the expense of users.
“It looks like a subsidy from users to miners to delay the imminent change. Why? How are miners entitled to stability and ease of change? Why start from 3 ETH, why not start from 2 ETH instead, if the purpose is simply to facilitate the change. You don't socialize the gains, so you don't socialize the losses, ”said one user.
