Control profile
- Transaction ordering
- None — permissionless proposer set
- Escape hatch
- n/a — settlement layer, no exit dependency
- Upgrade authority
- Social consensus + hard fork. No key can change state or seize funds.
- Liveness record
- No chain halt since the Merge. Finality ~13 minutes. The standing concern is client concentration: Geth held ~50.1% execution-layer share as of Q4 2025, and a supermajority client bug is the one scenario that could finalise a wrong chain. Institutional operators moved toward multi-client stacks through 2026 in response.
Ketju assessment
The baseline against which every other chain is measured, and the only venue where a sovereignty-first mandate is fully honoured. No sequencer, no upgrade key, no operator who can be compelled. The cost is gas — a client with a small position pays materially more here than on an L2, and that trade-off has to be stated plainly rather than solved by quietly routing them to Base.
Observable review triggers
- Any single execution client exceeding 66% share
- Any single consensus client exceeding 66% share
- Finality failure lasting more than 1 hour
These triggers make the judgment monitorable. They are not predictions; each identifies a fact that would revoke or force review of the current assessment.
Advisor implementation questions
- Does the client’s thesis require censorship resistance, or primarily low-cost settlement?
- Can the client exit without cooperation from the normal transaction-ordering party?
- Who can upgrade bridges or contracts, and what delay applies?
- Does the asset introduce an issuer weaker than the chain grade?
- What evidence will show a halt, censorship event, or governance change?