The Chopping Block: Is Canton a Real Blockchain? Ethereum’s Cypherpunk Dilemma, AI Security Chaos
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Canton's enterprise model challenges crypto's permissionless ethos - developed by TradFi giant DRW, the system requires a business proposal and a two-thirds vote from existing members to become a validator, prioritizing institutional control over open access.
“The difference is a very big difference, which is default yes versus default no. Canton is default no.”
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Hidden state architecture separates Canton from public blockchains - unlike Ethereum where data is public, Canton’s state is hidden from everyone but validators, creating a 'default no' environment that critics argue lacks necessary verifiability.
“Ethereum Foundation, for the first time in its life, is being ahead of the curve currently, because it basically reads the room, and it understands, okay, all those people who were into cypherpunk values in the past, they have nowhere to turn anymore.”
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MEV is being used as a marketing wedge for enterprise adoption - Canton leadership claims public chain front-running is a dealbreaker for institutions, though crypto natives point out that RFQ platforms already solve these privacy issues on-chain.
“My understanding of Canton is that the state is not publicly visible, right? So basically the validators know the state, but you cannot query an RPC node and see, here's the total supply of this asset, or here's the holders of this asset.”