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This is exactly why decentralized currency is no better than regular currency. Bitcoin is centralized in the hands of a few shady, anonymous exchange owners fun

This is exactly why decentralized currency is no better than regular currency. Bitcoin is centralized in the hands of a few shady, anonymous exchange owners funding the development. At least in a capitalist democracy we get to elect the criminals who rob us blind.

staplers 7y ago
Actually the federal reserve is a partially private institution whose head is selected by the president. The common folk never make that decision.
- 6510 7y ago
  We still get the pitch forks.
  - bredren 7y ago
    I believe the pitch forks are to not hold any bitcoin, and not accept Bitcoin. Whereas, you do not have much of an option except to accept your national currency.
- egdod 7y ago
  We (somewhat indirectly via the electoral college) select the president. It’s a representative democracy, with one extra layer of indirection.
ericflo 7y ago
You can always fork. People forget this when talking about blockchains, but it is one of the fundamental innovations of the model.
- cryptowizard 7y ago
  "...replicating a structure (through organizational or version forking) does not completely address the hierarchy of the structure itself. While it certainly gives others a voice and accounts for fragmentation in the community, power is not flattened among all participants. Quite clearly, senatorial governance is not a direct democracy but a representative one where certain actors (Lead Developers, mining pool operators, software companies) are raised into positions of power by grouping individuals (programmers, miners, users) through their obligatory passage points. This is not necessarily a negative revelation for algorithmic decentralization via (proof-of-work) blockchains but it is important not to assume all stakeholders of their protocols are made equal. The cost of collective action is hierarchy" (481)
nullc 7y ago
I don't believe other than one or two occasional contributors any exchange has ever funded Bitcoin development.

staplers 7y ago

Actually the federal reserve is a partially private institution whose head is selected by the president. The common folk never make that decision.

6510 7y ago
We still get the pitch forks.
- bredren 7y ago
  I believe the pitch forks are to not hold any bitcoin, and not accept Bitcoin. Whereas, you do not have much of an option except to accept your national currency.
egdod 7y ago
We (somewhat indirectly via the electoral college) select the president. It’s a representative democracy, with one extra layer of indirection.

ericflo 7y ago

You can always fork. People forget this when talking about blockchains, but it is one of the fundamental innovations of the model.

cryptowizard 7y ago
"...replicating a structure (through organizational or version forking) does not completely address the hierarchy of the structure itself. While it certainly gives others a voice and accounts for fragmentation in the community, power is not flattened among all participants. Quite clearly, senatorial governance is not a direct democracy but a representative one where certain actors (Lead Developers, mining pool operators, software companies) are raised into positions of power by grouping individuals (programmers, miners, users) through their obligatory passage points. This is not necessarily a negative revelation for algorithmic decentralization via (proof-of-work) blockchains but it is important not to assume all stakeholders of their protocols are made equal. The cost of collective action is hierarchy" (481)

nullc 7y ago

I don't believe other than one or two occasional contributors any exchange has ever funded Bitcoin development.