While the concept of decentralization is not completely new to humanity, Satoshi's Bitcoin whitepaper started a movement that hasn't been seen before and brought forward practical implementation of decentralized network to offer a better alternative to financial systems. Many were inspired by this idea and started exploring various endeavors to contribute to this effort, create businesses, collaborate about new ideas, build exchanges, create new networks, etc.
As crypto space quickly evolved many successful businesses, founders of these businesses, innovators emerged. They all talked and still talk about decentralization as their inspiration. Brian Armstrong is among such people. Who talks a lot about decentralization. I have no reason think he doesn't understand the concept, because of his early vision and success in the space. However, his statements on the topic seem to be either contradictory, confusing, or deceitful.
Today, he had an interview with Anthony Pompliano where he stated that he would decentralize Coinbase if he started over. What does that even mean? Why would you even say that now?
Now that Coinbase is a publicly traded company, perhaps there is no way to make is some kind of decentralized network. Why would you even want to do that? It doesn't make sense.
Sure Coinbase can be centralized exchange/company. But it did help in spreading the word about bitcoin and making it available for many. I bought my first bitcoin on Coinbase. Would I buy there now? I hope not. Well ok, I might reconsider under one condition. List Hive already!
You can watch three minutes of the interview here:
What made me even more confused about his talk about decentralization is the following tweet from earlier today.
Does he and Coinbase intentionally ignoring Hive? Or are they just not capable of doing proper research to find out where the true efforts in building decentralized networks, decentralized social media, decentralized apps happening?
Or do they have completely different definition for this word?
I know I am asking too many questions. It just doesn't make sense to me, until I saw a response to his tweet by someone who wrote a book about bitcoin, and this response appeared as the top comment.
I didn't say it. But all this talk about decentralization and zero attempt to list Hive on their exchange or not even acknowledging or knowing the existence of decentralized social network, did make me think he might be deceitful. I would still give him a benefit of a doubt. Maybe someone can convince me otherwise.
My suspicions about Coinbase and its founders' dishonesty in speaking about decentralization started when I saw one of their top executive showed up EOS event hosted by Dan Larimer when he first introduced Voice at an Apple like presentation. Nothing against EOS, but it seemed like Coinbase valued businesses, centralized projects/ideas like Voice more than the decentralized projects and efforts.
After taking a look at their Coin listing application process, I got even more convinced that they are more interested in establishing relationships with project teams, businesses, and centralized entities.
Just looking at his tweet above, shows how narrow or perhaps even incorrect description for decentralization they are giving. Just because centralized networks and apps like twitter and reddit start using crypto doesn't make them such. Or does it?
Of course my thoughts here are biased. While Hive is not perfect, it is decentralized enough, and definitely a lot more decentralized than many coins listed on Coinbase.
List Hive already!
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Another zuckerberg.
I haven’t thought about him like this. Makes perfect sense.
It is easy to talk about the decentralization game after one make a fortune going the centralized route. It is no different that Dorey talking about decentralized social media.
They are a part of the system yet talk about being outside of it. Really just blowing smoke as they make more money from being a part of the centralized establishment and playing by their rules.
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Well said. It does seem to be mainly about making money, and not much with true innovation.
I think he would obviously go centralized if he had to redo things in the past. Like you said, they are a public company and they got a lot of bank/venture capital funding. They are beholden to the investors at this point and decentralization is impossible. Maybe he is trying to appeal to the wider blockchain.
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I kind of feel like "decentralized" is just a buzz word he/they are using to sound cool to non-informed noob crypto enthusiasts. I believe social media apps will indeed by cryptoed within the next 5 years. They've all got theirs being built, and some have already attempted to implement, were it not for congressional frownings upon.
But I have no idea what he means with the "decentralize coinbase" comment. I'm still on there. Maybe I need to get with the program. LOL. Who do you use?
I use BRD wallet and metamask. Robinhood for trading.
Yeah, metamask is what I figured.
I would say say his just trying to drive his busienss his a shitcoin casino and he needs feeds
i love Hive, it is my go to (virtually only) platform for sharing (though i do share my Hive posts on Twitter at the moment - i will stop that in due course though as i ultimately think that by doing that i am feeding Twitter with energy and effectively supporting a corrupt centralised organisation which supports violence and mass murder through censorship).
Anyway, i do NOT think Hive is decentralised enough, although it's the best if the bunch at the moment. I really hope Hive will adopt a bottom up, multi-level, pure Democrity consensus Community Governance system (eg. The Matrix-8 Solution - in blueprint stage) which would then make it truly decentralised and fuel Hive into orbit.
Will you help with this @geekgirl? You will for sure be richly rewarded should we succeed!
Sat Nam
Atma
In my opinion, the core function of decentralization of the network is the security of the network. That no one entity, no groups can unilaterally gain control of the network and use it to their advantage. This security makes sure that integrity of the network, ownership of accounts/wallets are not broken.
This is achieved via DPOS consensus on Hive. Last I checked there is no large stakeholder or groups of stakeholders that have enough cumulative Hive Power that can perform such an attach on the network. If one to try to gain enough HP to gain control, the price of Hive go so high that they wouldn't be able to finish what they started.
This is what I mean with Hive is decentralized enough. In DPOS especially with a rewards distribution system of Hive, it should keep getting more and more decentralized over time.
I do not know what "bottom-up, multi-level, pure democrity consensus community governance system" is. But I can see many different systems can be built on top of Hive as a second layer. Just like different tribes have been experimenting with different systems.
If what you are suggesting is not within Delegated Proof of Stake (DPOS) system, I doubt it can be achieved as it would require changing the consensus mechanism altogether, which would mean creating a new blockchain.
Good points. It seems like he's using the word "decentralized" as just another buzzword. It's like Coinbase hired a marketing firm to handle their P.R.
"Our analysis suggests that people interested in crypto tend to also value decentralization, so we recommend that you try to work in the word "decentralized" in all of your public relations communications. That way the words "Coinbase" and "decentralization" will become associated together in the media overtime."
lol. It makes sense now. :)
Well, I believe he only said that because of the regulatory backfires he(coinbase) has been facing.
His major point was that in trying to get legal approvals and sorts, he’s faced so much difficulties as the business is new and there are almost no laws in place for it so they have to expend resources and face continuous scrutiny from regulators and all that.
This is his major reason for wanting a decentralized exchanged and nothing else in my opinion.
Oh yeah, they keep ignoring Hive, obvious. I love that Hive keeps making strides irrespective.
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Good point. But I heard him repeat this word many times even before any confrontation with regulators. I really doubt he cares about decentralized exchanges at all. He made a lot of money with a centralized exchange. I don't blame him for that. Centralized exchanges are needed too.
From the moment it is an incorporated company, Coinbase is a centralized entity. For any centralized entity, any truly decentralized venture is a mortal enemy
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STOPCheck out the last post from @hivebuzz:
Not a fan of Coinbase!! ... Oh yeah, Hive won getting listed in several top crypto exchanges before it got more established after the fork and break up with steem.
So why is COinbase not interested in listing HIVE?
I don't know...
THis esxchange is way behind capabilities of other exchanges thesedays - look at Binance has quite a bit including its own Blockchain and DEX ecosystem there. That is very handy for people wanting to escape CEX due to KYC and regulatory hits.
Then FTX exchange, its awesome, what features and we have tokenised stock trading, its a onramp to DEX trading with tokens that can be sent to serum from there getting wrapped as SPL standard tokens.
So...why COinbase, that exchange collapses every time there is a peak in BTC sales or buy volumes.
Nah... I don't care for COinbase, you know they not made it accesable to me(from India) while I can easily trade in Binance or FTX or even bitrex.
So... forget this guy, and shift your loyalties to more deserving exchanges.
And did you know that Coinbase fees is high, I heard they are compared to FTX..
I say FTX rules now, and they should list HIVE perhapes that will be great.
Hate CEX thesedays... Govts. too they are just making my crypto life uncertain...and pushing me to think of localbitcoins, hodlhodl and vpn...): ...life gets hard for crypto loyalties.
Yep that’s the best!
Coinbase is officially trading on Wall Street.
But decentralization have way more to go...
Because the blockchain by it self is very easily to track and see where the funds are moving, when you have a wallet on your phone especially...
Namaste 🙏