- Vitalik Buterin has suggested that Dogecoin could move to Proof-of-Stake
- Buterin made the comment at a conference on Friday
- The suggestion has not gone down well with Dogecoin purists
Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin seems to have got Proof-of-Stake fever. Having successfully overseen Ethereum’s switch 11 days ago, the Russian has started bestowing desires for similar transitions on other cryptocurrencies, most notably Zcash and Dogecoin. Buterin made the comments at a Messari Mainnet conference on Friday, saying that PoS was going through a phase of greater understanding and appreciation within the crypto community, and that other Proof-of-Work (PoS) coins would also soon make the move in order to scale properly. The news has not gone down well with Dogecoin purists however, who have decried the level of centralisation along with other criticisms.
Buterin Riles Dogecoin Fans
Buterin seems to be keen for Ethereum to be seen as some kind of trailblazer when it comes to PoS, with Ethereum’s successful switch putting him in the position of PoS prosthelytizer-in-chief, saying that, “As proof of stake matures, I expect it to just increase in legitimacy more and more over time.” Buterin then went one further and threw some names into the mix, reminding the audience that Zcash was already undergoing the transitional process from PoW to PoS, and then really threw oil on the flames:
I am also very hopeful that Dogecoin is going to evolve over to proof of stake at some point soon.
The gasp in the room must have been audible, with Dogecoin purists bristling underneath their hoodies. Like Bitcoiners, many Dogecoin supporters will never countenance the idea of a move to PoS, as Twitter soon proved:
Reasons why Dogecoin PoS seems like an moronic path to destruction…
1) The top 10 holders (mostly exchanges) hold most of the Doge that exists…
2) Proof of Stake has decentralized validation that’s dependent on its distribution of wealth.
(which in this case isn’t great) pic.twitter.com/EDyadnu0vV
— daanksy (@daanksy) September 23, 2022
There is literally 0 chance of that.
— cryptoken board ℠ (@cryptoken_board) September 24, 2022
I disagree, since PoS is literally rule by the rich. In a world where distribution of capital is massively skewed to the top I don’t see how this is a good idea.
— Anders 🏁 (@X__Anderson) September 24, 2022
Transition Would Please Elon Musk
A move to PoS would please Dogecoin’s most famous supporter, Elon Musk, who’s Tesla company famously ditched accepting Bitcoin after he discovered (months after the fact) that Bitcoin mining isn’t great for the environment. However, Dogecoin remained accepted by Tesla, and SpaceX, despite it using the exact same consensus mechanism.
There is no doubt that a move to less energy intensive consensus mechanisms is a good idea for the longevity of cryptocurrencies, especially with PoW bans being discussed on both sides of the Atlantic, but Dogecoin seems a harder, and less popular, nut to crack that Buterin’s own Ethereum project.
