In the last issue, we discussed: The distribution of tokens determines whether power is held by a few individuals. Now, we have covered the five key dimensions to judge whether a chain is decentralized:
Node Threshold: Can you freely join, run a node, and become part of the network?
Consensus Mechanism: Who produces the blocks? Is it open competition, or is it predetermined behind the scenes?
Is the code open source: Can others see what you are doing, are there any "backdoors"?
Governance Mechanism: Can the rules be changed? Who has the right to participate in modifications?
Token Distribution: Are power and interests concentrated in the hands of a few?
These five dimensions actually connect to three main questions:
Who does this chain belong to? Who decides? Can it be controlled by a small group of people?
Now, back to practice, how can we quickly assess the degree of decentralization of a chain using this framework? You can operate as follows:
Step 1: Check Node Threshold and Distribution
Directly search for the project's node operation tutorial or the keyword "node map." Can you run a node yourself? Is the global distribution decentralized?
For example:
Bitcoin: 20,000+ full nodes, anyone can join
Solana: High node operation threshold, significant hardware requirements
Domestic chains: Most have no public node tutorials, mostly permissioned nodes
Step 2: Check the Type of Consensus Mechanism
Go to the official documentation to see what mechanism it uses, whether it's PoW, PoS, or alliance consensus like DPoS, BFT?
Then check the block explorer to see if the block production addresses are concentrated, for example, whether only a few addresses dominate the leaderboard.
Step 3: Look at GitHub Repositories and Development Activity
Open GitHub, directly search for the project name, see if there are public code repositories, whether the documentation is complete, and if anyone has been maintaining submissions recently.
Step 4: Check Governance Proposals and Community Participation
Go to its governance platform, such as Snapshot, to see if there have been real proposals in the past, who initiated them, how many people voted, and whether they are all dominated by a few major holders.
Step 5: Analyze Token Distribution Structure
Find its white paper, issuance documents, or third-party analyses, focusing on two things:
- The initial distribution ratio of the community, private placement, and team;
- Whether the locking and releasing mechanisms for all parties are fair—such as whether there are long-term locks, whether releases are linear, and whether the community can truly access circulating shares.
In summary:
Decentralization is never just a function, but a complete structure.
Nodes, consensus, code, governance, and distribution are all essential. Now, the judgment is in your hands, and I hope it helps you see the true nature of each chain.
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