Much ado about decentralisation

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Written by

Freelancer and IT enthusiast

2 years ago

In community: Cryptocurrency and Blockchain(7b7f)

Topics: Cryptocurrency, Adoption

The concept of decentralisation aims at taking control from a central authority and spreading the control across board. The central authority usually comprises very few individuals when compared to the entire population or structure. In simplistic terms decentralisation is wrestling control from the grips of a few and spreading it across to the many. This idea as I will attempt to narrate later on is supposed to be one of the pillars on which the house of crypto is built.

People who joined the crypto space are divided across several lines as it pertains to the reason(s) for their entry. Some joined because they are true believers in cryptocurrencies that is they see and believe in the prospects , real world applications and use cases of the tokens in crypto space. They are convinced that it is only matter of time before the fortress of fiat which seemed impregnable for so long is overrun by the crypto army especially with the recognition and adoption certain crypto currencies have gained in the last few years.

Some others see it as purely or strictly a business opportunity to make profits from trading in crypto currencies. This group can and will buy or ape into any project no matter how ridiculous or useless it may seem or be provided there is a chance to make a buck or two.

There is yet another group that hopped onto the crypto train as they perceived it to be an opportunity to get back at the government. They see crypto as an anti-establishment or anti-central control system which ought to be free of any form of centralised control of the government via any of its agencies such as the Central Banks. They also embrace it as a means to truly have control of their financial assets which is absent in the conventional banking system with its inherent charges as well as limited channels where one can exchange one's assets.

There are also individuals who have chosen to go the way of cryptocurrency but do not belong exclusively to either of the aforementioned categories or groups. In some ways these individuals are hybrids of sorts as it pertains to their motive(s) for venturing down the path of cryptocurrencies.

Pertaining to the crux of this piece, it was borne of some past experiences in the bear market as well as more recent occurrences prior to the current bull onslaught. The idealist idea of decentralisation is one of true ownership of one's financial assets in non-custodial wallets as well as the price of assets or tokens being free from any sort of centralised control or manipulation by individuals or groups with vested interests.

More specifically in terms of the interplay of demand and supply in the determination of prices, the dream of being decentralised was freedom to a large extent if not totally from any sort of manipulation. Alas this dream has failed to come to fruition thus far and may never become a reality as it appears it is now generally accepted that price manipulation by whales is and will remain inevitable.

In the heat of the first bear market in 2021, some persons in a platform where I was a member justified the actions of whales 'dumping' substantial quantity of tokens for profits as them reaping their rewards for being early investors which shouldn't surprise anyone. This opinion seems fair to such whales but someone else must bear the brunt of the dump.

Another aspect to the price manipulation in the crypto space is the actions of vested groups of individuals whose combined shares in any token has immense influence on its price . I recently stumbled across a telegram group which specialises in short signals to dump the price of any token the group administrator chooses. The group has about 76K members and the effect of their dump signals are clearly felt in the market price of their chosen token. I can only but imagine how many of such groups are out there.

My opinion on the issue of price manipulation by a few may be viewed by some as the ranting of a new entrant into the crypto space but I know that many others like myself are disappointed and shocked by what appears to be an unfair manipulation or control of prices which the conventional financial systems had been accused of.

One thing is for certain, we are yet to hear the last on the debate as to whether the price determination of crypto assets can truly be decentralised . The hand writing on the wall seems to point to the fact that decentralisation in this regards may be a mirage.