The main arguments of the Chia developers include the following: decentralization, low-emission "Mining" and the whole thing takes place under the slogan "Green Crypto".
Decentralization
The more individual users (and thus PCs) are connected to the Chia network, the more decentralized the network becomes. This should make sense so far. This was made very simple, just install the Chia software and your own full node connects to the network fully automatically. With every "plot" that you add to your farm, the network expands and you contribute a part to processing the transactions.
The ideal case would of course be that every user has a plot and thus the decentralization grows evenly with every new user. I have to admit that I don't know whether it would be enough to keep a full node running - but not a farm - in relation to decentralization. As far as I understand not, but I don't want to swear that. If we just take a look at these statistics, we immediately recognize --> We are moving in the wrong direction.
Low-emission mining or "Do we already have a problem with Mining-Whales?"
Anyone who has some free storage space (at least 360GB, to be precise) can participate in the farm. The chances of success naturally increase with more storage space made available. Is it now reprehensible to make more memory available? Basically not at first. Everyone wants a piece of the pie and no one complains about a larger piece. In real life, too, there are larger pieces of cake - and smaller ones. Does the baker have a right to get a larger piece? I would answer that with a clear yes.
But now we are already at a point where large industrial bakeries have been founded and make it almost impossible for the passionate little baker next door to sell his cake for a profit.
Not to forget all the energy consumed by this industrials, you won't reach this amount of plots in such a small time without using high-end hardware.
Is this a problem? I would like to answer this clearly with yes. Can I now reproach the industrial baker? No. These take a great financial risk, it is understandable that you want to be rewarded accordingly.
Who can I blame now? The chia developers. Already now - and we are still at the very beginning of the journey, we haven't even left our property yet - the numbers are absolutely frightening. Let's take a look at these statistics here.
This means that 2 industrial farmers already own almost 9% of the total amount of XCH (and the trend is rising!). With the previous information, everyone should now be aware that this is absolutely not a good sign.
It is a slap in the face for all smaller farmers who will close both their full nodes and their farm in the near future.
This results in increasing centralization, as all the small farmers (bakers) leave us and the industry gains even more market share.
And here we are at a point where the developers have to step in. It cannot and must not be right that this project is already being exploited (and destroyed!) bby profit-driven financial sharks.
Conclusion
So what can be done about it? As is so often the case, the answer is very simple. The amount of volume contributed per user / household is limited. This would be very effective in preventing having to see such statistics. As much as I give everyone a piece of the cake, but that 2 people own 9% of the total volume is simply wrong and far from the vision conveyed by the developers.
In the foreseeable future, mining pools will find their way onto the Chia blockchain. This is a positive development for all the smaller farmers, but unfortunately not a solution for the increasing centralization.
We can only hope that the developers act, otherwise I unfortunately don't see a green future for Chia. Unfortunately, it seems to me that it is precisely these large industrial farmers who are receiving significantly more attention from developers than all the others who contribute a large part to decentralization.
We'll see where the journey goes
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