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Comment by CRM_CHILD_IDENT | Hacker News Reader

Cryptocoins - I guess you mean that by misusing the term "crypto" - are not "decentralized" just because there is one p2p feature implemented.

On the opposite, you have ultra-centralized governance and zero democracy.

You should erase the idea from your head that cryptocoins bring anything valuable to the payment world.

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How is Ethereum (an open source network) ultra centralized and without democracy compared to PayPal or VISA which currently account for a large portion of Patreon payments?

Yes, it is the same, you are right. That´s the point - no inch more "power to the poeple" via cryptocoins.

Except these are not at all the same, and most users cannot fork or participate in PayPal/VISA protocols.

What difference does it make if they can fork or participate? The important decisions are made by Vitalik and a small group of insiders. Do users get any input on anything actually important like the Ethereum fork that bailed out the DAO investors?

Protocol and client development spans hundreds of contributors and independent researchers. The discussions and development is public; just look at the EIPs, or even submit one yourself.

Users (non-devs) have agency through the software they choose to run. If mainnet was seriously affected by some attack, users could choose to migrate to a healthier network run by honest nodes. This agency happens with every hard fork: the DAO, but also the PoS merge.

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