Topic: Bitcoin cannot be decentralized if the Internet is centralized - page 5. (Read 1104 times)

I agree with hatshepsut93 (wow that's hard to write).
Internet is still a place largely decentralized

We have bitcoin, we have independent news sites, anyone can open a blog for free and say whatever he wants  with no censorship (mostly)... internet is so large and so vast that nobody can control it.

Internet is just a bunch of connected computers,  almost all computers in the world. That's just amazing.

However there are some services in the internet which are oligopolies (mostly due to their own merits by the way).

For example, the advertising online industry is an oligopoly controlled by Google Facebook and maybe one or more companies. But we cannot say internet is  centralized  imo

Can you elaborate? As I know, the Internet network is still largely decentralized, and thanks to tools like encryption, ToR, VPN, proxies it's impossible to control users. It's impossible to make a "turn Bitcoin off" button, so I wouldn't worry about it. There are problems with lack of competition between Internet service providers in some places, but it doesn't have any strong implications for Bitcoin.

Internet is centralized when a government can cut your access or limit it. It is centralized when you're paying your ISP for the ability to connect to the web.

It is centralized because somebody owns the cables. Those fiberoptics did not produce and lay themselves. Your local network at work is also centralized because someone owns the computers and someone pays the bills.

The internet is decentralized. It is literally millions of computers all around the world, no central point of failure. Google, Amazon and Facebook do not control the internet, if that is the extent of your internet usage, I feel sorry that you are missing out on so much more. If those companies were gone tomorrow, the internet would be just fine.
Bitcoin is decentralized, with many nodes holding a copy of the blockchain, no central point of failure.

By your logic, you may as well call it centralized since it only available in one galaxy, so if you can spread to more galaxies, then it will be more decentralized lol.

Bitcoin is decentralized ! Even tho chinese miners have most of the hasing power it is not all under one single pool. Not a 51% attack. And even if all fails and bitcoin does fall to this... no problem. Bitcoin 2.0 will step in, more powerful then ever (not BSV... another one )

Bitcoin is not manipulated (to my knowledge). Yes, btc price can/was pumped by third parties (see USTD, and many other examples) but no one controls it. ISP will not ban IP associated with crypto nodes ... let's be realistic here. Big companies may try to centralize as much as possible, to censor, to manipulate popular opinions ... The Overton Window is a great example and an interesting read imo.
There was a time when some ISP (it may still happen....donno) blocked traffic when they realized you were using torrent systems. But mostly torrents were piracy. Crypto is freedom!

It's not the "INTERNET" you have to fear. If you have a router and few meters of FTP cable you can make a local network and presto.... you have INTERNET. Not World Wide Web... mostly 3 house wide web ... but still the same concept.
I believe Satoshi's legacy is the blockchain and bitcoin was a practical example of how revolutionary it actually is.
A decentralized internet would be great. Many similar options to pick from, no monopol, net neutrality etc. would be awesome. But don't see how without theese crypto will perish !

Satoshi's invention of a revolutionary form of money that would give people control over their funds back in 2009 (Bitcoin), turned out to be a success. While the cryptocurrency's PoW consensus is partially centralized (mostly dominated by the Chinese), it has a wide distribution of nodes all across the globe. Theoretically speaking, Bitcoin is decentralized where anyone can set up a node to support the Blockchain. With enough capital, it's possible to secure Bitcoin in our homes with sophisticated ASIC machines too.

So far, many people believe that Bitcoin is truly decentralized as "no one" controls it. But the harsh reality is that every single cryptocurrency and Blockchain network depends on the Internet to survive. It's no secret that in today's world, big companies like Google, Facebook, and even Amazon control the Internet. On the other hand, ISPs (Internet Service Providers) have a final say over what people can view or host using the Internet. This means that Internet is centralized, greatly defeating the purpose of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies of eliminating the middleman.

For Bitcoin to be truly decentralized, the Internet needs to be decentralized first. Once that's done, you could expect to achieve financial freedom that's out of the scope of oppressive governments, central banks, and large corporations alike. Until then, Bitcoin and all other cryptocurrencies will be subject to the risks of the Internet's centralization for years to come.

What are your thoughts?