Is Bitcoin truly decentralized?

[Invester]

Yes, Bitcoin is decentralized without question. The very nature of how it is coded is such that it is decentralized... there is no possible way that it could not be, as each node must approve of every transaction... without exception.

Correct but the reason people are worried about that is because they can clearly see that mining is centralized, a handful of persons control exclusively almost all the hash power, but I think that as bitcoin becomes more successful more people will begin to compete against the current mining giants.

Good point. The mining team has a great stake in sketching the future of Bitcoin. These giant Bitcoin miners can decide as a group and the Bitcoin Core team will have to listen to them considering that these giants will severely affect the fate of Bitcoin if they will decide to leave BTC once and for all.

[Kingofbitcoin12345]

Your observation is valid and those points you mentioned has been in discussion in this forum.. But I think I will based my answer to my opinion and own observations.. Bitcoin is decentralized and for sure the time it soon be changed is inevitable.. I don't know when and I don't want to know either..

[Fretcy]

One of the major importance of bitcoin is that it is decentralized, bitcoin has no central management control or system, bitcoin is the first system of decentralized money and banking, these digital currency is a technological advancement of paper money, this technology will help increase the economic growth of the world.

[DoublerHunter]

Bitcoin is decentralized and it's not depending on any central bank, government or regulatory agency. When it comes to manipulation I don't say there is no chance but I think the possibilities are minimal. Minera could be a different story but still I don't think they influence that much.

Agree with you
Bitcoin is decentralized. It's has own power. Bitcoin is not depending any central bank. I have no actual idea  about bitcoin but i believe that bitcoin is decentralized digital currency.  Now its so much popular.

Bitcoin is decentralized because that is one of the reason, bitcoin is not depending on any central bank and it is also dependent on any organization or government so it is a complete package of freedom. Bitcoin is offering freedom to the people and that is what people like, because of the freedom it attracts people to use bitcoin because they don't need to feel scare about the government and they have the complete control for their money that they putted in bitcoin.

[farwellbit]

Proponents of Bitcoin claim that Bitcoin is a decentralized system. And because it is decentralized, nobody can control it - not you, not me, not the central banks, not the Federal Reserves, not anybody. Bitcoin nodes are distributed extensively and not kept in a centralized system (for instance, in one server) which can be susceptible to hacking or take over. While the inherent system is designed to operate in a decentralized manner, external factors are making Bitcoin less decentralized. Why? Because Bitcoin transaction requires miners to validate and update transactions on the Bitcoin network. To do that, miners need hashpower. The greater the hashpower, the greater control the miner or group of miners have on the system. Currently, Chinese miners control more than 70% of the total Bitcoin mining hashpower in the world, making China the undisputed world leader in Bitcoin mining. Talk about decentralization. According to blockchain.info, 4 (19%) of the total of 21 mining pools control more than 50% of the hashing power, while the rest of the 81% are left with 47% of the remaining hashpower. Doesn't sound so decentralized, does it?

Moreover, Bitcoin developers are controlled largely by Bitcoin Core group that is being run by people hired by Blockstream, a private company. So now, you have bitcoin mining controlled by a small handful of miners and the developers controlled by a group of people belonging to a single private entity. Some argue that this is exactly what makes Bitcoin decentralized because none of them can gain control over it. Really? Because from the outside, it looks more like a company being run by two hard-headed CEOs who are only looking out for their own self-interest. When two CEOs clashes against one another, is that what they refer to as decentralized?

So while Bitcoin's inherent system is decentralized, the governing factors (hashpower dominance by Chinese miners and software development by a small group of developers) makes it less so.

I’m not 100% sure about how genuine the market is, But all i’m sure is that there is no Central Bank which is a very great thing as the price of bitcoin is determined by the factors of demand and supply

[Rj Manik]

I suggest, actually it's decentralized.It is understood to see hoe it going from birth.And how are going forward.See it public support, you understand.

[giga_999]

It is decentralized but can be easily manipulated by big players on this market. that's why it got such a big trust and popularity.
CH tried to do the same and I am pretty sure they will manage to decentralize current way of doing business.

[holtzmann]

I agree. I think 100% decentralization is impossible. Even the fact of a potential possibility of 51% attack shows that Bitcoin is not fully decentralized. But I also think there is no much sense for someone to take control over Bitcoin. Because as soon as someone does that, people will no longer trust Bitcoin and sell off all their coins, so eventually this someone will be left with Bitcoin network all by himself.

[Barbarian]

Yes, Bitcoin is decentralized without question. The very nature of how it is coded is such that it is decentralized... there is no possible way that it could not be, as each node must approve of every transaction... without exception.

Correct but the reason people are worried about that is because they can clearly see that mining is centralized, a handful of persons control exclusively almost all the hash power, but I think that as bitcoin becomes more successful more people will begin to compete against the current mining giants.

Good point. The mining team has a great stake in sketching the future of Bitcoin. These giant Bitcoin miners can decide as a group and the Bitcoin Core team will have to listen to them considering that these giants will severely affect the fate of Bitcoin if they will decide to leave BTC once and for all.

If anything the miners are furious that the devs are not listening to them, they are very powerful and have invested great amounts of money in bitcoin and yet the devs are doing what they think it is the best for bitcoin and that is why we have these forks and potential forks in store.

[setupbounds]

Your observation is valid and those points you mentioned has been in discussion in this forum.. But I think I will based my answer to my opinion and own observations.. Bitcoin is decentralized and for sure the time it soon be changed is inevitable.. I don't know when and I don't want to know either..

There is no one repository of bitcoins so obviously it has decentralized nature. It has no central control and no central point of failure. By decentralized nature, I mean it has market based centralization. You can say that the Bitcoin exchanges or web wallets are centralized but bitcoin itself is not.

[deisik]

Your observation is valid and those points you mentioned has been in discussion in this forum.. But I think I will based my answer to my opinion and own observations.. Bitcoin is decentralized and for sure the time it soon be changed is inevitable.. I don't know when and I don't want to know either..

There is no one repository of bitcoins so obviously it has decentralized nature. It has no central control and no central point of failure. By decentralized nature, I mean it has market based centralization. You can say that the Bitcoin exchanges or web wallets are centralized but bitcoin itself is not

Such comparison doesn't make a lot of difference

It is like saying that fiat money is decentralized on account that individual cash, hand to hand transactions are completely decentralized (as they are). But this alone doesn't make fiat decentralized. Apart from that, banks can also create credit money in a perfectly decentralized way, and they are not even limited in the amount of money thus created unlike Bitcoin which has a cap on the total number of coins to be mined

[SMSCHAIN]

It's normal that China has 70% of the total Bitcoin mining hash-power, they have about 15% of world population.

Anyway, Bitcoin was just the first cryptocurrency. I believe there will be much more and the system will be less imperfect. In any case, Bitcoin is decentralized due to the logic of the system.

[Fancyax]

Nothing is perfect even bitcoin. We just hope it improves and covers its disadvantages soon.

[stompix]

Bitcoin is decentralized and it's not depending on any central bank, government or regulatory agency. When it comes to manipulation I don't say there is no chance but I think the possibilities are minimal. Minera could be a different story but still I don't think they influence that much.

Agree with you
Bitcoin is decentralized. It's has own power. Bitcoin is not depending any central bank. I have no actual idea  about bitcoin but i believe that bitcoin is decentralized digital currency.  Now its so much popular.

Three whole months on this forum and you say you have no idea about Bitcoin?
The what are doing here, in god's name?

I agree. I think 100% decentralization is impossible. Even the fact of a potential possibility of 51% attack shows that Bitcoin is not fully decentralized. But I also think there is no much sense for someone to take control over Bitcoin. Because as soon as someone does that, people will no longer trust Bitcoin and sell off all their coins, so eventually this someone will be left with Bitcoin network all by himself.

No it shows not.
It is decentralized as long as 51% of the miners are not acting against the others and with one entity controlling them all.

Think of it like normal persons who enjoy different tastes. Everyone is free to choose their own favorite color.
But the moment 51% decide that there would be one color alone in the world, there is no longer a free choice it's dictatorship of the majority.

Decentralization works until all the independent nodes start acting the same way under someones order.
Basically it ends where centralization happens.
Not really the case until now in the BTC enviroment.

[wallstone]

Bitcoin is decentralized and it's not depending on any central bank, government or regulatory agency. When it comes to manipulation I don't say there is no chance but I think the possibilities are minimal. Minera could be a different story but still I don't think they influence that much.

Well, I absolutely that bitcoin is decentralized and its not depend on any bank. In addition to that, bitcoin is decentralized you can your own bitcoin and you can also use on any things that you want. Bitcoin is a digital currency and its own power. Lastly, bitcoin do not depend on any bank or government so that you can say that bitcoin is decentralized.

[Koadharber]

Bitcoin is decentralized and it's not depending on any central bank, government or regulatory agency. When it comes to manipulation I don't say there is no chance but I think the possibilities are minimal. Minera could be a different story but still I don't think they influence that much.

Well, I absolutely that bitcoin is decentralized and its not depend on any bank. In addition to that, bitcoin is decentralized you can your own bitcoin and you can also use on any things that you want. Bitcoin is a digital currency and its own power. Lastly, bitcoin do not depend on any bank or government so that you can say that bitcoin is decentralized.

All the things you do said was right.Bitcoin isnt related or not connected on any bank or institutions which it can stand alone without the need of those things. Bitcoin is a decentralized crpytocurrency on which it does give you the full control of your funds and not only that you can make transfers from point A to B without any 3rd party involved and do have less fees which i can say that this thing is really a great innovation on a new payment system.

[rocketbits]

Proponents of Bitcoin claim that Bitcoin is a decentralized system. And because it is decentralized, nobody can control it - not you, not me, not the central banks, not the Federal Reserves, not anybody. Bitcoin nodes are distributed extensively and not kept in a centralized system (for instance, in one server) which can be susceptible to hacking or take over. While the inherent system is designed to operate in a decentralized manner, external factors are making Bitcoin less decentralized. Why? Because Bitcoin transaction requires miners to validate and update transactions on the Bitcoin network. To do that, miners need hashpower. The greater the hashpower, the greater control the miner or group of miners have on the system. Currently, Chinese miners control more than 70% of the total Bitcoin mining hashpower in the world, making China the undisputed world leader in Bitcoin mining. Talk about decentralization. According to blockchain.info, 4 (19%) of the total of 21 mining pools control more than 50% of the hashing power, while the rest of the 81% are left with 47% of the remaining hashpower. Doesn't sound so decentralized, does it?

Moreover, Bitcoin developers are controlled largely by Bitcoin Core group that is being run by people hired by Blockstream, a private company. So now, you have bitcoin mining controlled by a small handful of miners and the developers controlled by a group of people belonging to a single private entity. Some argue that this is exactly what makes Bitcoin decentralized because none of them can gain control over it. Really? Because from the outside, it looks more like a company being run by two hard-headed CEOs who are only looking out for their own self-interest. When two CEOs clashes against one another, is that what they refer to as decentralized?

So while Bitcoin's inherent system is decentralized, the governing factors (hashpower dominance by Chinese miners and software development by a small group of developers) makes it less so.

The market is a market in which nobody can directly alter its affairs which makes it a very safe market to be on. The value is determined plainly by the laws of demand and supply only.

[Barbarian]

It's normal that China has 70% of the total Bitcoin mining hash-power, they have about 15% of world population.

Anyway, Bitcoin was just the first cryptocurrency. I believe there will be much more and the system will be less imperfect. In any case, Bitcoin is decentralized due to the logic of the system.

And the US after the second world war had about 66% of the gold, a powerful nation is going to have a lot more bitcoin than its number of citizens for the simple reason they are more productive, now about the hash power I think that is going to change as bitcoin becomes more popular and it becomes profitable to mine in other countries.

[balakang00]

I think it is still centralized since it is handed not by the local government. In fact it is not yet fully legalized by the government. It is not yet taxed and if that happens it is very beneficial to the projects of the government.

[Pettuh4]

I think it is still centralized since it is handed not by the local government. In fact it is not yet fully legalized by the government. It is not yet taxed and if that happens it is very beneficial to the projects of the government.

Do you understand what you're saying? I think you're either missing the whole idea about decentralization or you've mixed up some text that needs to be edited.