Original author:Kaori，BlockBeats

Whether Ethereum is becoming more centralized is becoming a hot topic in the crypto community. Vitalik said in May last year that any liquidity staking pool should not exceed 15%. However, now Lido, Coinbase and Binance account for more than 85% of the staking, and the Ethereum Foundation alsoadmitEthereum has corporatization, centralization and systemic threats.

Doubts in the community are growing, with many calling Vitalik a dictator. Recently, some active voices in the crypto community even questioned Vitalik and other Ethereum founders for improper operations and bribery of SEC executives during the Ethereum ICO.

On November 2, under a tweet by crypto KOL Tiffany Fong about the SBF trial, former Ethereum consultant Steven Nerayoff commented, “Obviously, Ethereum is the elephant in the room, even eclipsing the FTX case. . Joe Lubin and Vitalik Buterin have been front lines for corrupt officials at the highest levels of federal agencies, such as Clayton (former SEC Chairman), Gensler (SEC Chairman) and others.

Subsequently, the crypto media Bitcoinist published an article titled Ethereum Insider Breaks a Bombshell: The ETH Founders Fraud Is Worse Than the FTX Fraud, which attracted community attention.

Nerayoff retweeted the article and said, Whats interesting is that I havent talked to any reporters, but they think I wrote these articles. This article is not saying that I have no evidence, just that I havent disclosed it. If they think They wouldnt have said that if I hadnt, even though Ive revealed a lot to those who are paying attention.

In addition to these latest accusations, Nerayoff also tweetedsaySomeone in Ethereum concealed the true number of Ethereum ICO buyers. Whales can cover up their large positions during the ICO.

Steven Nerayoff continues to have disputes, and the identity of early contributors to Ethereum is in doubt

Steven Nerayoff is the founder and CEO of Alchemist. Linkedin information shows that Nerayoff has served as a consultant or investor in multiple projects, including Ethereum, tZERO, Polymath, Casper Labs, etc. He also said that during the Ethereum crowdfunding period, he invented Utility Token and ICO (later evolved into IEO and IDO), and at tZERO, Steven designed the security token for the first regulated security token (TZROP). Token Offering (STO).

But in 2019, a CoinDesk report revealed that Steven Nerayoff was involved in extortion charges.articlementioned that as of March 1, 2018, Nerayoff was a member of the advisory board of tZERO, a security token trading platform owned by retail giant OverStock. A 2017 OverStock press release described him as the architect of the Ethereum ICO. ”.

According to CoinDesk, early Ethereum staff said he was indeed involved and also participated in the conception of Gas, but those descriptions may be exaggerated and far from the driving force suggested by his resume. A tZero spokesperson said that tZero also has no relationship with Nerayoff and his company Alchemist. Alchemist was previously a paid consultant for the tZERO token issuance, but tZERO has terminated the consulting relationship.

The fraud charges faced by Steven Nerayoff at that time were related to his plan to extort a US startup company, which Nerayoff had hired in 2017 to guide the company in conducting an ICO. It is alleged that he and his employee Michael Hlady demanded $4.45 million from the company and face up to 20 years in prison if convicted.

In May, a New York judge dismissed the fraud charges against Nerayoff, saying in court documents that they had obtained significant exculpatory evidence and were unable to prove the allegations in the indictment beyond a reasonable doubt, ending the long-running dispute. Three and a half years of legal battle.

The Steven Nerayoff feud isnt over, though. September, NerayoffsayVitalik Buterin and his father Dmitry Buterin jointly accused him of blackmailing the Ethereum ICO and damaging his reputation. This was a coordinated and well-planned character attack by the father and son to make me their scapegoat. Nerayoff also said that Ethereum Virgil Griffith, a senior researcher and developer at the foundation, was dumped by Vitalik after he was convicted of helping North Korea evade sanctions.

Several months have passed, and the community has not seen any substantive accusations made by Steven Nerayoff. Nerayoff even claimed in a recent tweet that Twitter had restricted his traffic (banned tagged), Looking at the early posts from late September and early October, the views ranged from hundreds of thousands to millions and now thousands?!

Conspiracy theory? What is ETHGate

Nerayoffs comment area is also filled with another keyword - ETHGate.

ETHGate supporters claim that the Ethereum Foundation and ConsenSys have developed close relationships with key figures within agencies such as the SEC and JPMorgan Chase, ensuring a favorable regulatory environment for Ethereum.

This entry appears because the SEC classified Ethereum as a non-security while giving XRP and other competitors tougher treatment.

In the SEC v. Ripple case, Ripple lawyers seized on an Achilles heel of the SEC—former SEC Financial Division Director Bill Hinman said in a 2018 speech that ETH should not be considered a security. Pending this ruling, however, the SEC would choose not to disclose Hinmans material, insisting on its confidential nature.

In addition, ETHGate supporters also believe that Joseph Lubin, co-founder of Ethereum and founder of ConsenSys, has established an inside connection between Ethereum and the SEC.

Within two months of Jay Claytons appointment as SEC chairman, Lubin hired Patrick Berarducci from the law firm Sullivan Cromwell, where Clayton had been a partner before serving as SEC chairman. The community believes that this may provide Ethereum with an inside line, or at least closer relations with the SEC.

Those who support ETHGate also place their hopes on Steven Nerayoff, believing that he has more inside information.

Are Bitcoin bulls involved in this Ethereum farce?

Former OverStock CEO and Bitcoin advocate Patrick Byrne also forwarded this newssayFollow this story closely and youll see how it relates to me. Patrick Byrne resigned as OverStock CEO in August 2019 after he admitted to participating in the FBIs investigation into whether Russia influenced the 2016 U.S. presidential election. In January 2014, Overstock became the first major retailer in the world to accept Bitcoin payments.

Some media even claimed that because Ethereum bulls are more optimistic than Bitcoin in the encryption market, Ethereum maximalists claim that Ethereum can surpass Bitcoin at any time, so Bitcoin maximalists are panicking about the bullishness of Ethereum. charges of fraud.

However, in the comment area of ​​these questioning and accusing tweets, most community users took a wait-and-see attitude. Their common voice was that Nerayoff did not provide substantive evidence, and relying on speculation and speculation cannot affect the status of Ethereum. This article The headline is shocking, but actually contains zero substance. What exactly are these accusations? What evidence do you have to support it? How is it bigger than FTX?

Did the Ethereum ICO really involve unfair fraud and bribery of senior SEC officials? Steven Nerayoff said the answer will be given soon, but thereplyMy intention is to make everything as public as possible and everyone can decide for themselves. I created another platform that cannot be censored, so I will post here (Twitter) and there (new platform).

How did the incident ultimately progress? BlockBeats will continue to track coverage.