ConsenSys, a web3 infrastructure developer and creator of the well-known MetaMask digital wallet, has voiced its support for the deployment of Uniswap’s v3 protocol on BNB Chain with 7.03 million votes. The voting power of ConsenSys is determined by the number of UNI tokens they hold, valued at approximately $47.5 million. As of now, the proposal has received the backing of 77.56% of voters while 22.07% are against it. The voting process, which will determine the fate of the proposal, will conclude on February 10th.
Venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz expressed opposition to the proposal with a vote against it. A16z, possessing 55 million UNI tokens, cast a vote of 15 million UNI against the migration due to their reliance on the Wormhole bridge.
Instead, they voiced their support for the use of LayerZero as the interoperability protocol. LayerZero Labs, which is part of a16z’s portfolio, saw a successful funding round in March, raising $135 million and achieving a valuation of $1 billion.
In January 2022, Wormhole faced a significant security breach which led to the loss of $321 million worth of Wrapped Ether (wETH) tokens. Since then, Wormhole has taken steps to enhance its security measures, including the appointment of 19 validators and undergoing over 25 comprehensive audits by leading firms. These measures have proven effective, as all security assessments have come back positive.
How can $UNI holders outside of a16z be sure there's no conditions or other hidden influences on these outside groups from a16z or related parties?
Is everyone supposed to just take your word for it?😆 pic.twitter.com/4uGLJOsnjK
— DefiMoon 🦇🔊 (@DefiMoon) February 7, 2023
The vote by a16z sparked controversy within the cryptocurrency community due to the low voter turnout of less than 7% for the ongoing proposal, which still managed to reach the necessary quorum. This allowed a16z to exercise disproportionate influence on the voting process with just 15 million UNI out of the 762 million UNI in circulation.
Critics argue that this type of behavior undermines the decentralized nature of Uniswap by consolidating voting power in the hands of venture capital firms.
Joy Rice is a computer science graduate and crypto writer with a strong understanding of blockchain technology. She writes about the latest developments in the crypto industry, and is passionate about educating and informing readers about the potential uses of blockchain.
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