It was precisely when the Ethereum ecosystem was in the final stages of its preparation for the famous update, The Merge, that the German cloud provider Hetzner reaffirmed its position regarding the authorization of mining operations for proof-of-stake (PoS) and proof-of-work (PoW) ).
Hetzner, a private and centralized cloud provider, participated in a discussion related to running blockchain nodes, stating its terms of service prohibiting customers from using its services for cryptographic activities. However, the Ethereum community perceived this disclosure as a threat to the ecosystem, as Hetzner’s cloud services host nearly 16% of Ethereum nodes, as shown in the graph below.
Dependence on centralized service providers has always been seen as a risk factor for the long-term maintenance of the ecosystem, and rightly so. Redditor u/Supermann- criticized the anti-crypto policy of the second largest Ethereum Mainnet host, Hetzner. To eliminate the doubt and legal implications of using his services for crypto activities, Hetzner said:
“Our products are not allowed to be used for any application related to mining, even remotely. This also applies to Ethereum. »
The company also pointed out that this disallowance applies to running nodes, mining and farming, tracking, blockchain data storage and trading. While he was aware that his services are heavily used to power Ethereum, Hetzner revealed that “we were thinking internally about the best way to solve this issue”. As a warning to the public, Hetzner added:
“If you, or any other potential customer, are unsure whether your use case will violate our Terms of Service, please contact us. »
The latest revelation from German cloud provider Hetzner clearly shows the impact that decision-making by centralized entities can have on growing cryptocurrency ecosystems.
Most of the Ethereum ecosystem currently runs on Amazon.com, which hosts 54% of all Ethereum nodes. The top cloud service providers currently hosting Ethereum nodes are Oracle Cloud (4.1%), Alibaba (2.8%) and Google Cloud (2.7%).
Also read: Ethereum Foundation Clarifies Upcoming Merger Upgrade Will Not Reduce Gas Fees
Talk of an Ethereum update has fueled many misunderstandings not knowing what the update means for the future of blockchain. A Cointelegraph article listed the top five misconceptions about the upcoming Ethereum update.
Reduced gas fees and faster transactions are the most widely circulated rumors in the ecosystem, which have been confirmed to be false. However, a later update, known as the Shanghai Update, will lead to faster and cheaper transactions.
