A visual guide to decentralization | New_ Public Magazine

With no centralized authority, the control of a blockchain system is distributed throughout a network. But is a blockchain completely “decentralized?” According to Schneider, summarizing Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin, consensus protocols like Ethereum “are architecturally and politically decentralized, but logically centralized, since they ma... See more

A delegated structure, where, for example, an individual empowers her subordinates to operate with some independence, is another form of decentralization.

Centralized structures can have virtues, such as enabling publics to focus their limited attention for oversight, or forming a power bloc capable of challenging less-accountable blocs that might emerge. Centralized structures that have earned widespread respect in recent centuries—including governments, corporations, and nonprofit organizations—hav... See more