The Ethereum Foundation (EF) has released a 38-page version of mandate Outlining its long-term governance vision and role within the Ethereum ecosystem. Published on Friday, the document is intended to serve as a guiding framework for the foundation as Ethereum continues to develop.
EF outlines its role in Ethereum’s future
The mandate reiterates the Foundation’s view that the Ethereum network should act as a neutral infrastructure layer rather than a platform controlled by any single entity.
A guiding principle of the mandate is for Ethereum to work with the underlying framework of censorship resistance, open source, privacy and security (CROPS).
According to the Foundation, these principles represent the main characteristics that should guide the development of Ethereum and determine its success. The document formulates them as necessary security measures aimed at preventing centralization, mission drift or external takeover of the protocol.
The mandate describes the main purpose of the EF as enabling Ethereum to function as a decentralized and flexible “liberation technology” that provides self-sovereign computation (where users have ultimate control over their data, assets, and identities) and sovereignty-preserving coordination at large scale.
The Foundation explained that its role as the core – but not sole – steward of the Ethereum protocol is to enable coordination and preserve CROPS across the protocol layer and other key areas to which it contributes.
EF said its ultimate goal for Ethereum is to pass the “walkway test” coined by its co-founder Vitalik Buterin, where “its protocol and core application layers become so robust and trustworthy that they will continue to reliably function and evolve even if the foundation and today’s core developers disappear tomorrow.”
In pursuing this goal and maintaining its leadership role, the Foundation notes that it remains an independent nonprofit and will not seek monetary rewards, organizational development, or overzealous adoption. “We support the adoption because it does not violate our mandate,” EF wrote.
Meanwhile, EF President Aya Miyaguchi said that CROPS, as enshrined in the mandate, should be a core priority for all members of the Foundation, noting that it functions beyond the mere manifesto.
Miyaguchi wrote in a Friday
The release of the mandate comes amid broader discussion about the new roadmap and rollup’s function in the Ethereum ecosystem.
