OP, you should read the answers in this topic: https://bitcointalksearch.org/topic/is-bitcoin-really-still-decentralized-5209011
The problem is the same: decentralization.
Usually the term decentralization for Bitcoin is related to the number of nodes, not about the centralization of wealth.
Although there are probably many Bitcoin whales, many exchanges' and other service providers' cold wallets may be also mistaken as whales. Also I expect many early fat wallets are actually lost forever. So the problem may be a bit smaller than some think.
Also new bitcoins are mined on the daily basis. If you are concerned about who owns them, go buy as many as you afford (although you should better don't invest more money than you afford to lose).
However, go read some of the answers there. They should be interesting and useful.
Topic: Bitcoin & Centralization - page 3. (Read 559 times)
I think the pints you are making are things that will gradually dissipate over time as Bitcoins are spread to more of the population. Theoretically at some point in the future, there won’t be individuals that hold huge numbers of Bitcoins. However, the same problem is going to happen with any new cryptocurrency. At the beginning there will be a few people that own huge numbers of that coin.
Seemingly we still have whales out there hoarding not just 1 5 or 10 bitcoins and its many many forks mind you (free Extra money) but with thousands upon thousands of bitcoins.
lets assume that what you are saying here is correct and whales aren't just accumulating thousands but millions of bitcoin. let me ask you this, is anybody preventing YOU from doing the same? so as long as the answer to that question is a big fat NO then there is no room for you to complain about it either. it is YOUR own choice not to invest in bitcoin with that kind of money so you can't blame others for taking a bigger risk.
People having a lot more bitcoin than most of us =/= centralization
Bitcoin isn't a solution for the wealth imbalance. Wealthy people, are going to remain wealthy whether you like it or not. Them having more bitcoin doesn't automatically mean that they have more control over the network. If we're talking about Proof of Stake[1], as with other coins, then sure. But Bitcoin is Proof of Work[2].
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proof_of_stake
[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proof_of_work
Bitcoin isn't a solution for the wealth imbalance. Wealthy people, are going to remain wealthy whether you like it or not. Them having more bitcoin doesn't automatically mean that they have more control over the network. If we're talking about Proof of Stake[1], as with other coins, then sure. But Bitcoin is Proof of Work[2].
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proof_of_stake
[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proof_of_work
Centralization is a loose term. Some might argue Bitcoin is centralized because most miners are from China, some argue that Bitcoin is centralized because only rich people can mine it, so on and so forth.
You need to be clear with your definition of centralization. Having more Bitcoin than the others might give you more selling pressure but doesn't mean you can simply make and reject any transaction that you wish to stop (which is where the 'decentralization' part comes in).
You need to be clear with your definition of centralization. Having more Bitcoin than the others might give you more selling pressure but doesn't mean you can simply make and reject any transaction that you wish to stop (which is where the 'decentralization' part comes in).
This is not the true definition of decentralization, having a lot of bitcoin doesn't mean you have control over the network, and this doesn't imply you can effect change on the working principles of the block, you are just lucky to have been an early adopter, and anyone could own volumes of bitcoin if they wish to buy this cheap a price. A time will come when it hits $100k and people will still complain why will someone have so and so volumes of bitcoin, and the simple answer is that no one actually stops them from buying cheap when they had the opportunity.
While most people tend to market bitcoin as being anti centralization, anti govt. so on and so forth, it occurred to me that it might just be centralized too. Seemingly we still have whales out there hoarding not just 1 5 or 10 bitcoins and its many many forks mind you (free Extra money) but with thousands upon thousands of bitcoins. So in all of this it's kind of a scary dilemma. What are you thoughts and comments on this seemingly true fact? Thoughts and comments are more than welcome.
What are you saying, that if someone has a certain amount of BTC it becomes centralized? What exactly do you mean by centralized here? Sure, there's a number of persons out there that have large holdings, so what. This is a free market and the most fairly distributed crypto. Satoshi himself is thought to hold nearly 1 million coins. Tim Draper has 30,000 plus coins, and someone else may only have .04, none of those facts centralize Bitcoin. Someone may only have more power to move the market than another but this is still distribution. Another note, Bitcoin is not anti government. In fact, we need governance as a society and always have. The problem is when the governments no longer represent the peoples interests. Power centralizes and bad shit happens. Look at the USA right now. They can even go to war with countries that have no intentions of fighting at all and because they print the money, they can do what they want. This is centralization, not Bitcoin.
While most people tend to market bitcoin as being anti centralization, anti govt. so on and so forth, it occurred to me that it might just be centralized too. Seemingly we still have whales out there hoarding not just 1 5 or 10 bitcoins and its many many forks mind you (free Extra money) but with thousands upon thousands of bitcoins. So in all of this it's kind of a scary dilemma. What are you thoughts and comments on this seemingly true fact? Thoughts and comments are more than welcome.
One of the main reason why the people especially the government are not intend to market bitcoin is because they afraid that the bank may down and the Cryptocurrency is the one who will benefit and being on the top. This is one of the big reason why government don't want to regulate it and they want it to make centralized in order for them to control the cryptocurrency and the market situation. That would probably the main reasons why the government hates and don't want to regulate bitcoin to the people or masses because they afraid of the visibility of cryptocurrency.
While most people tend to market bitcoin as being anti centralization, anti govt. so on and so forth, it occurred to me that it might just be centralized too. Seemingly we still have whales out there hoarding not just 1 5 or 10 bitcoins and its many many forks mind you (free Extra money) but with thousands upon thousands of bitcoins. So in all of this it's kind of a scary dilemma. What are you thoughts and comments on this seemingly true fact? Thoughts and comments are more than welcome.
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