Topic “Legally credible neutrality”
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Enshrined Proposer-Builder Separation (ePBS) on Ethereum and legally credible neutrality
Enshrined proposer–builder separation (ePBS) scheduled for Ethereum's Glamsterdam upgrade promises to make the blockchain more robust and less reliant on external tools. I'd like to explore whether ePBS will also improve legally credible neutrality for any of the participants in the Ethereum network, like I recently did for the FOCIL proposal. Here, I explain how ePBS strengthens that case for proposers, creates an even cleaner “conduit‑like” role for a new committee, and concentrates discretion (and thus potentially legal attention) at the builder layer. continue reading
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FOCIL on Ethereum and legally credible neutrality
The debate over whether Ethereum's next major upgrade ("Glamsterdam") should include fork‑choice enforced inclusion lists (FOCIL, EIP‑7805) has been framed primarily as an engineering and incentive‑design question. I want to reframe it as a legal‑design question: what does FOCIL do to the distribution of practical discretion among base‑layer actors, and does that improve the case for what I have elsewhere called "legally credible neutrality"? My short answer is yes—mostly. FOCIL converts what is today a fragile, norm‑based non-censorship aspiration into a protocol‑enforced constraint for most validators and proposers, which strengthens the argument that they should be treated in law as neutral infrastructure rather than as editors of user activity. However, at the same time, FOCIL introduces a new locus of discretion in the inclusion‑list committee. continue reading
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Crypto Law Seminar #5 (28 June 2024): “Regulatory Implications of MEV Mitigations”
Discussing a paper by Yan Ji and James Grimmelmann, the seminar explored the legal implications of MEV (Miner Extractable Value) practices, focusing on distinguishing between beneficial and harmful MEV, regulatory challenges under MiCA, and the evolving norms in DeFi. Key discussions included user expectations, liability standards, and the impact of emerging technologies like MEV-Boost. The need for nuanced regulation to balance innovation and fairness was emphasized, alongside the importance of further research and education in this rapidly evolving field. continue reading