Identity and background:
My name is Peter Benesch. I’m a lawyer by training, having focused my practice on U.S. and international taxation. I spent about 7 years working at a couple of large law firms before joining Coinbase in late 2021.
I started my crypto journey in late 2017, initially focused on the Ethereum ecosystem and the handful of Dapps that existed at the time. I even managed to collect a sizeable bug bounty just from being a power user of some early Dapps. I started engaging with the Solana ecosystem in late 2021 and have been a very active user ever since.
I have participated in Jito governance via voting on a handful of occasions, and have posted thoughts in the forum a few times before. I also drafted a JIP regarding tokenomics, though that JIP hasn’t been formally submitted (yet).
I definitely am committed to helping the Jito Network and Solana succeed. In my view, Solana is pushing the limits of decentralized computing systems, to a degree that’s unrivaled (at least for the time being), and Jito has become a central component to the efficient operation of the network. I would like to help by contributing my perspective, mainly as a power user in the ecosystem.
Candidate views
The balance between decentralization and performance is the main challenge for any decentralized computing system. Ultimately the network itself (Solana) has chosen to set a very high bar for performance, trusting that enough persons will be able to meet that level of performance while still maintaining robust decentralization (in the form of a large, geographically distributed network of validators).
I believe Jito should operate similarly with respect to JitoSol. I believe there should be a very high bar for performance, though obviously it can’t be so high that only a very small number of validators could meet the performance requirements. Ultimately, I believe running a validator (or network of validators) should be more like a business than a hobby.
As I have outlined in forum posts and the JIP I drafted, I believe JTO liquidity is important, but even more important than mere “liquidity” is maintaining the strength of the asset. There are certainly benefits to being able to easily enter and exit an asset, even in size. However, in my opinion, it is more important for the long-term health of the Jito network that the JTO token (which plays a key role in overseeing crucial aspects of the Jito Network) remains strong and its fundamental tokenomics are sustainable.
As a delegate, I would like to provide the perspective of a community member and avid user. While I wouldn’t be able to provide much technical insight on proposals or topics, I believe I would still be able to provide helpful insights from a functional and practical (user) perspective.
Solana delegation address: G4eaQSBML6rtSA1fSpT1npfNJQ38BxKcZMLLj5idX6G8