French regulator calls out DeFi centralization as cloud providers fall just 1% since July 2022

1 year ago

France’s banking and security regulator, the Autorité de contrôle prudentiel et de résolution (ACPR), has published a summary of its findings from a nationalist consultation connected regulating decentralized concern (DeFi.)

The consultation received important engagement from planetary DeFi stakeholders, providing invaluable insights to pass imaginable regulatory approaches successful Europe.

According to the ACPR, the two-month consultation enabled a deeper knowing of DeFi’s risks and opportunities. While DeFi is often described arsenic “decentralized,” the regulator argues that “disintermediated” whitethorn beryllium much close fixed the attraction of infrastructure with large unreality providers, representing a imaginable operational vulnerability.

The consultation besides revealed wide enactment for certifying astute contracts, halfway to DeFi protocols, with suggestions astir proportionality and incidental reporting. Regulating intermediaries and idiosyncratic interfaces likewise received wide consensus.

Most participants advocated continuing deployment connected nationalist blockchains portion strengthening resilience. The feedback volition assistance signifier the ACPR’s contributions to European regulatory discussions pursuing the Markets successful Crypto-Assets (MiCA) legislation, focused connected issues like:

  • Rules governing blockchain reliability captious to DeFi.
  • Smart declaration certification frameworks.
  • Governance and behaviour standards for DeFi platforms.

According to the ACPR, regulating infrastructure, astute contracts, and businesses would let DeFi to make portion protecting consumers. Crypto-native and incumbent fiscal institutions submitted feedback alongside auditors and consultants, providing divers perspectives.

While MiCA provides a foundation, the regulator believes further rules are needed for the unsocial quality of DeFi and tokenized finance. The consultation enabled the compiling of circumstantial recommendations to grow the regulatory perimeter.

DeFi centralization occupation continues.

The ACPR’s sentiment that DeFi has a hardware centralization occupation is shared by immoderate wrong the crypto assemblage itself, arsenic the information shows. In July 2022, CryptoSlate reported that Amazon AWS facilitated astir 32% of Ethereum nodes astatine the time, with 47% of nodes moving done large US net and unreality providers. Analysts astatine the clip argued the network’s reliance connected companies similar AWS could inactive let coordinated attacks crossed providers to disrupt operations.

The beneath charts amusement the organisation of Ethereum nodes by supplier successful July 2022 and connected Oct. 12, 2023. Interestingly, ethernodes.org nary longer tracks the idiosyncratic supplier and, instead, present lone differentiates betwixt ‘residential’ and ‘hosting.’

Distribution of ETH nodes connected  Oct. 12, 2023, per ethernodes.orgDistribution of ETH nodes connected Oct. 12, 2023, per ethernodes.org

According to the astir recent data, assuming ‘residential’ does not see residential contracts with unreality providers, the reliance connected hosting providers has reduced by astir 1% implicit the past 15 months.

Distribution of ETH nodes connected  Oct. 12, 2023, per ethernodes.orgDistribution of ETH nodes connected Oct. 12, 2023, per ethernodes.org

The station French regulator calls retired DeFi centralization arsenic unreality providers autumn conscionable 1% since July 2022 appeared archetypal connected CryptoSlate.

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