The claim that validator-run RPCs are “not being used” is bold and demonstrably false. RPC usage data is not broadly public, and the one dataset that is public already contradicts this narrative and shows meaningful real-world usage.
The idea that Forno is some kind of developer-grade silver bullet is equally detached from reality. Forno is explicitly not designed for serious developer workloads. It is rate-limited, websocket connections are intentionally unstable by design, many methods are unavailable, and the SLA makes this clear in black and white. It exists primarily for end-user interaction. Anyone who has actually benchmarked community RPCs against Forno knows they are orders of magnitude better.
The assertion that “we could get rid of 100% of validators and Forno would still work” is frankly reckless. Yes, technically, you could run a blockchain with one or two validators and still have staking, voting, and timelocks function. And by that same logic, you could also light the entire decentralization model on fire. Centralization is not a clever optimization; it is a systemic failure mode.
What this argument really reveals is a willingness to trade long-term network integrity for short-term budget convenience, while pretending that redundancy, independence, and decentralization are optional luxuries. They aren’t. If the conclusion of your reasoning is “we don’t need validators because one provider works for now,” then you’re not missing something; you’re actively arguing for the weakest possible version of the network.
Well I’m hopeful that at least Ethereum is headed in the right direction. I hope Celo can borrow a leaf.