Ethereum Proponent Warns Private Blockchains Lead to 'Race to Bottom'

Vivek Raman, co-founder and CEO of Etherealize, warns that Wall Street's private blockchain obsession is leading to a 'race to the bottom' in terms of potential.

Raman argues that private blockchains, such as those being developed by Digital Asset, Circle, and Stripe, are siloed systems that don't interact with one another. This contradicts Ethereum's goal of creating an open, permissionless ecosystem where all transactions are visible to everyone.

Ethereum is a 10-year-old blockchain that serves as the base layer for billions of dollars in tokenized assets and the settlement layer underpinning much of decentralized finance (DeFi). Raman likens Ethereum's mainnet to Hypertext Transfer Protocol, or HTTP, the base layer of the internet itself.

Raman believes that a global, open infrastructure is necessary as the base layer, allowing for maximum interoperability and liquidity in one place. He warns that the 'consortium chain' approach will lead to a proliferation of competing systems with little interconnection or cooperation.