Creating Standards in the Blockchain Industry

There has been discussions off and on about how to create and socially enforce standards within the blockchain industry. A good example of this is standards between contract auditing firms.

— Hudson Jameson (@hudsonjameson) June 9, 2023

A firm that charges $80k and spends 14 days on a contract and a firm that charges $10k and spends 3 days auditing a contract are both called an "audit" even though their quality and standards are very different. 1/18

— Hudson Jameson (@hudsonjameson) June 9, 2023

How would it be possible to create a standard or rating system for contract audits that does more to prevent the hungry beasts of capitalism and greed from further infecting the audit industry so users have more data on who to trust and why? Certikly there's an answer. 2/18

— Hudson Jameson (@hudsonjameson) June 9, 2023

First, there are already examples of industries collaborating for shared rating systems. One example is the ESRB rating system, which is a non-profit group that is funded collectively by the major video game companies to provide ratings to videos games across platforms. 3/18

— Hudson Jameson (@hudsonjameson) June 9, 2023

This is an example of an industry self-governing themselves that was forced when Congress in the US had hearings on violent video games in the early 1990s. Violent video game Congressional hearings rarely happened after the ESRB was formed in part due to the ESRB. 4/18

— Hudson Jameson (@hudsonjameson) June 9, 2023

This is my goto example of collective industry action.

On the other end, in the US when it comes to trades like plumbing and welding, there are certifications, licenses, and "endorsements", generally at a state level, but sometimes nationally. 5/18

— Hudson Jameson (@hudsonjameson) June 9, 2023

Here is what it is like in Texas for plumbers: https://t.co/tyt5b1MDzT 6/18

— Hudson Jameson (@hudsonjameson) June 9, 2023

There are various designations depending on skill level, but if you are a plumber in Texas and declare you are a journeyman plumber, that is a universal term that is used across the state and other orgs do not try to subvert that. 7/18

— Hudson Jameson (@hudsonjameson) June 9, 2023

Sometimes things like that are established via laws, but not always.

Roofers who replace and fix roofs after a hail storm currently do not have an association or strict nation or state certification process in Texas. 8/18

— Hudson Jameson (@hudsonjameson) June 9, 2023

After hail storms occur in Texas, people will come to your front door, ring the doorbell, and offer to fix your hail damaged roof for cheaper than a known roofing business. They are not legally required to have licenses, certifications, or insurance. 9/18

— Hudson Jameson (@hudsonjameson) June 9, 2023

If they don't do professional work, you don't have recourse since the person wasn't licensed. There is no organization to complain to. Additionally, if they fall off the roof of your house and get injured, they can sue you. 10/18

— Hudson Jameson (@hudsonjameson) June 9, 2023

There are efforts to enact laws to curb this practice and standardize roofer credentials so there may be changes to this since I last checked. 11/18

— Hudson Jameson (@hudsonjameson) June 9, 2023

So bringing it back to smart contract standards, my thinking is that we can't control people calling something an audit when it is low quality. 12/18

— Hudson Jameson (@hudsonjameson) June 9, 2023

However, a group of the biggest players in crypto audits and VCs/projects could come together and endorse a standard that is applied to all of their projects over time for a trickle down effect. 13/18

— Hudson Jameson (@hudsonjameson) June 9, 2023

The visual stamp of approval can be trademarked so if an illegitimate group or project uses the logo unfairly, the association or group who sets the standards for what a good audit is can take action to only allow those who have gone through their process to have the logo. 14/18

— Hudson Jameson (@hudsonjameson) June 9, 2023

Example: the Ethereum Foundation has sent dozens if not hundreds of legal requests to take down logos, trademark, and wordmark applications globally so users don't get tricked into using a fake Ethereum that is not the known standard Ethereum (exception is Ethereum… 15/18

— Hudson Jameson (@hudsonjameson) June 9, 2023

…Classic which has is an exception because there is enough of a separation at this point between the brand Ethereum).

There have been people who have attempted smart contract rating or standardization in the past. 16/18

— Hudson Jameson (@hudsonjameson) June 9, 2023

The good news is that there is enough of a desire for this type of standard in the Web3 industry that I foresee the possibility of a neutral 3rd party organization taking this on within some scope. 17/18

— Hudson Jameson (@hudsonjameson) June 9, 2023