We talk a great deal about decentralization these days. It is obvious this is the answer, both in theory and practice. The question is how well are we doing in practice?
I think the key is precisely in this concept: decentralization. But at the same time, I think we gloat over the fact that HIVE with its DPOS and other similar blockchains claim to be decentralized, when in reality it is basic decentralization, for mere comparison to existing centralized entities, call it Facebook, Twitter , etc.
We should honestly ask ourselves if we are actually a decentralized blockchain because each of us lives the illusion that we can participate in decision-making, although the entire infrastructure depends on a few dozen central points.
I think we are still very, very far from a true decentralized blockchain, although the right path is certainly being followed.
In a true decentralization the control points that exist today, whether they are witnesses, api or the storage of all the content of the blockchain, it should not be possible to identify them specifically through names, IPs or geographical locations. The entire blockchain should not be more than pieces of processes, information, simple bytes distributed in a totally random way and executed by each of the users of the blockchain, and that in the end the witness that mined the block would be all the users who in some way contributed to the processing of that block. No, I am not talking about POW but rather a kind of PDPOS.
With all this I am not saying that it is a problem that HIVE has, but that it is a problem that we all have when we think of decentralized systems. For example, migrating all the content of the HIVE blockchain to the IPFS system may seem like a desirable idea, but the reality is that IPFS is not yet a viable solution for real, living projects like HIVE, which are constantly changing and evolving. But in what can be a great contribution of HIVE in the development of decentralized systems, it is that it is a clear example of the real and true problem that decentralized systems face.