Introduction of the FOCIL Framework
In a bid to uphold the principle of neutrality within Ethereum’s blockchain infrastructure, co-founder Vitalik Buterin has introduced the FOCIL framework, responding to increasing fears about transaction censorship. Buterin recently took to social media to emphasize the significance of Ethereum’s trait as a “dumb pipe,” which ensures that all valid transactions are processed uniformly, without bias.
Addressing Concerns and Proposing Solutions
His remarks were partly aimed at addressing critiques from Ameen Soleimani, who expressed apprehensions about potential legal repercussions for U.S. validators participating in the network. Buterin underscored the necessity of establishing multiple safeguards to maintain Ethereum’s neutrality. He proposed three core strategies:
- Reinforcing the public mempool’s robustness to facilitate the straightforward inclusion of transactions.
- Advancing technologies for decentralized block building.
- Creating alternative routes for transaction inclusion, which would thwart potential censorship by centralized block builders, even if a dominant few hold a significant share of block production.
Reshaping Block Proposer Selection
The FOCIL framework is pivotal in reshaping the traditional architecture of selecting block proposers. Instead of having a single proposer per block, the proposal allows for 17 participants to be chosen uniformly. Among these, one block proposer gets the last say in transaction ordering while the remaining 16 are tasked with ensuring that specific transactions are included, thus lightening their operational burden.
Concerns Over Censorship
Currently, a small number of professional builders dominate Ethereum’s block production, raising concerns that if they were to cooperate, they could impose censorship on various transactions. The introduction of FOCIL counters this tendency by dispersing transaction inclusion rights across a wider pool of validators. This distribution means that even if two builders amass control over 99% of block production, they would still be incapable of impeding transactions, as the inclusion rights are divided among 17 independent proposers.
Legal Implications and Commitment to Neutrality
Despite the advantages, Soleimani cautioned that the FOCIL framework may expose U.S. validators to legal challenges, given that it may compel them to include transactions from sanctioned entities. This could subject them to severe penalties for violating sanctions laws, where previous instances have shown that filtering by U.S. validators can delay processing times significantly, sometimes up to tenfold.
While this legal perspective raises questions about inclusivity, Buterin remains committed to the principle of neutrality, asserting that Ethereum must continue to process all valid transactions, irrespective of their origins, to maintain its foundational ethos.
