Dr. Mark Richardson agreed that the which means of decentralization has shifted, and in some instances, it’s eroding solely.
When Bitcoin first emerged in 2008, decentralization was not simply an ideology — it was a necessity. Bitcoin was a protest in opposition to government-controlled cash, providing another monetary system that didn’t depend on banks, establishments, or centralized authorities. However right this moment, we’re seeing the identical governments that Bitcoin was meant to avoid now embracing it.
“Persons are applauding the US authorities even speaking about organising a Bitcoin reserve, celebrating it as if that is what we wished all alongside. However initially, the aim was to exclude governments from the system — not invite them in.”
He goes on to say the identical sample could be seen in Ethereum. It began out as extra decentralized than Bitcoin, however right this moment, giant validators like Lido management a majority of the stake.
“Ethereum’s transition to Proof-of-Stake was presupposed to additional decentralization, however now you might have two-thirds of the stake concentrated in a single entity. That’s the alternative of decentralized.”
The massive query: Are these pure rising pains, or is decentralization being quietly phased out?