Alex Gluchowski, CEO of Matter Labs, has proposed the idea of an “Ethereum Supreme Court” to arbitrate disputes that escalate to the point of threatening the main blockchain’s integrity. This system, which Gluchowski described as “a hierarchical system of on-chain courts similar to the real-world judiciary,” would allow apps built atop Ethereum to appeal for a chain “fork” in the event that they are hacked or face some other sort of security crisis. Gluchowski noted that “code is law, bug = death,” and that the system should be extremely expensive to use, with only “truly extraordinary cases” being brought before the Supreme Court.
Today, when apps on Ethereum are hacked and money is siphoned away from victims, the only real recourse is typically a fork of the blockchain – where a majority of the chain’s users and operators move to a new version of the chain that rolls back its history. Chain forks are extremely rare, and come with philosophical issues – the idea that a blockchain’s state is “permanent” is one of the main reasons people are willing to imbue it with value. Gluchowski’s proposal would formalize the use of Ethereum’s “social consensus layer” to secure platforms like DeFi apps and so-called layer-2 networks known as “rollups.”
Gluchowski’s proposal does underscore how security has become top-of-mind for Ethereum app developers. As these platforms become larger and more systemically important, Gluchowski doesn’t think that status quo solutions – like security councils and time-locked upgrades – will be sufficient for protecting users. “The most important function of such a system will be to protect protocols against political interference from the outside,” Glukowski wrote. “It will serve as a great deterrence mechanism, and will elevate the role of Ethereum as a powerful network state.”