Balchunas' Controversial Comparison

Bloomberg's ETF specialist Eric Balchunas found himself in hot water after a series of remarks that seemed to undermine Ethereum.

In response to a request for crypto book recommendations, Balchunas shared an excerpt from Benjamin Hart's 'Bitcoin: Beginner's Guide.' In doing so, he subtly compared Ethereum (ETH) to Bitcoin (BTC), claiming that Ethereum "just isn't the same or as secure."

The Book's Bold Claims

The excerpt suggested that the U.S. government could "shut down Ethereum" by ordering Amazon Web Services (AWS) to terminate its cloud services.

It also posited a scenario in which terrorists could kidnap Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin to manipulate the network. The crypto community immediately challenged these claims, highlighting Ethereum's decentralized nature.

"You should be utterly ashamed of yourself for even sharing this," Ethereum educator Anthony Sassano expressed, denouncing the post as "absolute blatant misinformation."

Community Backlash and Defense

The backlash was swift and intense. Anthony Sassano and others criticized Balchunas for spreading what they deemed propaganda. Sassano's comments reflected a broader sentiment among Ethereum supporters, who quickly pointed out the inaccuracies in Hart's book.

According to Ethernodes, AWS hosts only 28.4% of Ethereum nodes, making it implausible to shut down the network by targeting AWS alone.

Balchunas Deletes Controversial Post

Faced with mounting pressure, Balchunas deleted the controversial post. However, this action did not quell the debate about Ethereum's security and decentralization.

While Balchunas removed the post, it remains to be seen if his views on Ethereum have shifted. Meanwhile, Ethereum developers continue to focus on enhancing the network's decentralization through solo staking and reduced hardware requirements.