When does blockchain become fully decentralized? You may be surprised to hear that no blockchain project is currently 100% decentralized. Decentralization can be divided into two basic areas. The decentralization of the production of the blocks, i.e. at the network level, and the management of the project. Cardano, Bitcoin, Ethereum and other blockchains are doing well in terms of decentralizing block production and we can look at the number of pools, delegates, etc. The beginning of each project was centralized and went through a so-called bootstrap period in which the team played an important role. Many blockchain projects may never get out of the bootstrap period. This means that a centralized team, or a few individuals or groups, will have control over the management of the project. The Voltaire era is the last development phase in the Cardano roadmap in which the project will come under community control, including management. Let’s explore this topic in more depth.
TLDR
- Satoshi left Bitcoin, but the lead developer role was handed over to Gavin Andersen. That’s the same as a CEO replacing a departing one.
- Cardano is in a bootstrap period, but it is moving towards putting the management of the project in the hands of the community as well.
- Both Cardano and Bitcoin have decentralized block production.
- The team cannot remain in the position of deciding on future changes or the roadmap as it wishes with little to no accountability.
- For a project to be economically sustainable and independent of external funding, it needs to be able to reward not only network participants but also management and developers.
This article was prepared by Cardanians with support from Cexplorer.
Read the article: Cardano is one of the few projects moving towards full decentralisation | Cardano Explorer