Long-Term Cardano Critic Revises Stance, Praises ADA’s New On-Chain Governance Following Chang

Cardano recently marked a significant development with the introduction of on-chain governance through the Chang Hard Fork. 

This milestone has influenced some long-standing critics within the crypto community, leading to a reevaluation of their stance. Notably, Justin Bons, a prominent figure in the industry who has been critical of Cardano in the past, has now acknowledged the platform’s progress.

Perspectives on Decentralized Governance

In his recent post on X, the critic commended the Cardano community for achieving on-chain governance, highlighting its importance in preventing centralization. He emphasized that true decentralization at scale cannot be realized without governance mechanisms in place. Bons further stated that many projects claiming decentralization are still controlled centrally. 

The critic’s remarks extended to a broader comparison within the top 20 cryptocurrencies. He noted that, aside from Cardano and Polkadot, other major cryptocurrencies like Solana, Avalanche, and Near Protocol have only rudimentary forms of on-chain governance.

This distinction, according to him, places Cardano and Polkadot in a unique position within the industry, particularly in terms of governance.

Governance as a Precursor to Scalability

In his recent comments, the critic expressed hope that Cardano would prioritize Layer 1 scalability improvements next, suggesting that governance should have been secondary to scaling efforts.

He argued that without significant improvements in scalability, Cardano might struggle to attract broader usage and developer interest. Despite these concerns, he acknowledged the importance of establishing on-chain governance to prevent centralized control, as seen in other major blockchains like Bitcoin and Ethereum.

Evolution of Criticism

The latest remarks represent an evolution of Bons’ stance, which has been primarily critical of Cardano. In a post dated May 20, he described Cardano as highly centralized due to its “genesis keys,” a mechanism allowing for unilateral changes by a few key holders. 

1/8) Cardano has "genesis keys"; a multi-sig that controls all rules!

ADA is extremely centralized, as this is uniquely hardcoded into the protocol

IOG controls 5 out of 7 keys & can unilaterally change anything!

Ironic, as ADA claims to be the "most decentralized" chain: 🧵

— Justin Bons (@Justin_Bons) May 20, 2024

This centralization, he argued, was in direct contradiction to Cardano’s claims of being the “most decentralized” blockchain. He acknowledged, however, that Cardano has made efforts to move away from this model with the introduction of on-chain governance as part of the Voltaire era. Now, these Genesis Keys are no longer needed in Voltaire, triggering Bons’ change of stance.