David Edwards
Bloomberg’s senior ETF analyst, Eric Balchunas, stirred controversy on social media after sharing what many Ethereum supporters called “blatant misinformation” about the blockchain. In an Oct. 7 post on X (formerly Twitter), Balchunas cited a passage from the book Bitcoin: Beginner’s Guide, which sparked outrage across the Ethereum community before being deleted.
The contentious excerpt suggested that the U.S. government could potentially shut down Ethereum by instructing Amazon Web Services (AWS) to disable its cloud services, claiming that Ethereum is not as secure as Bitcoin. This assertion was based on the fact that 28.4% of Ethereum nodes use AWS, according to Ethernodes data—though this is insufficient to completely disrupt the network.
Additionally, the book claimed that Ethereum’s security could be compromised if its co-founder, Vitalik Buterin, were kidnapped and coerced into handing over Ether. Critics, including Ethereum educator Anthony Sassano, called the post “blatant misinformation” and accused Balchunas of sharing propaganda.
Balchunas later deleted the post, but not before facing heavy criticism from the Ethereum community, with figures like ConsenSys product manager Jimmy Ragosa denouncing the claims as “propaganda-ridden.”
Despite the backlash, Balchunas stood by the Bitcoin sections of the post, while Ethereum developers continue to emphasize decentralization and solo staking to further strengthen the network’s security.
