Part 9/15:
He likened the evolution of blockchain to the development of Ethernet. Despite initial scalability doubts, the underlying technology has survived and thrived because of its identity and brand rather than technological perfection alone.
The Risks of Centralized Control and Governance
A key concern raised was the risk of centralized control through governance, especially in permissioned or closed blockchains. Antonopoulos pointed out that systems operated by a few large entities—such as banks—could be vulnerable to:
Regulatory intervention or coercion: Rewriting transaction history upon legal orders.
Market manipulation or coercion: External pressures forcing the system to compromise its integrity.