diff --git a/notes/deconstructing-decentralization.md b/notes/deconstructing-decentralization.md index c16831e..13e55a2 100644 --- a/notes/deconstructing-decentralization.md +++ b/notes/deconstructing-decentralization.md @@ -14,6 +14,10 @@ aliases: notes/deconstructing-decentralization.md # Overview +> **_What does decentralized mean?_** +> +> There are two different common usages for the term 'decentralized' within the crypto-sphere: (1) To describe the peer‐to‐peer network of computers that comprise a permissionless blockchain; (2) To describe how power or agency works within permissionless blockchain systems. Coalescing of these meanings and the complexity of blockchain technology results in misunderstandings of how 'decentralized' blockchain technology actually is. + * In Part I, Walch outlines the two key senses of the word “decentralized” within this space: describing how power operates in blockchain systems; and describing the network of computers that comprise a permissionless blockchain. * In Part II, Walch identifies and explores key themes within the commentary, such as the different domains where power is exercised in blockchain systems and the fluid nature of power concentration and diffusion in these systems. * In Part III, Walch explores examples of events which reveal sites of concentrated power in permissionless blockchain systems. @@ -70,9 +74,6 @@ aliases: notes/deconstructing-decentralization.md * Calls to Action * The status quo usage of the terms “decentralized” and “decentralization” is deemed untenable by many commentators, and there are a variety of calls to action in the literature: deeper study of the term; frameworks for better understanding or measuring the decentralization of crypto systems; doing away with the terms altogether in discussing crypto systems. -> **_What does decentralized mean?_** -> -> There are two different common usages for the term 'decentralized' within the crypto-sphere: (1) To describe the peer‐to‐peer network of computers that comprise a permissionless blockchain; (2) To describe how power or agency works within permissionless blockchain systems. Coalescing of these meanings and the complexity of blockchain technology results in misunderstandings of how 'decentralized' blockchain technology actually is. ## III. Examples of Concentrations of Power in Permissionless Blockchain Systems