In the last issue, we discussed: to determine whether a chain is decentralized, the first step is to look at the node threshold, whether you can freely join and run a node. However, being able to join does not mean you can keep the accounts. The consensus mechanism of the blockchain decides "who keeps the accounts and how they are kept."
Simply put, you can think of the blockchain as a ledger that everyone writes together, where nodes are like each person holding a copy of this ledger, responsible for proofreading, archiving, and broadcasting; the consensus mechanism is the "rule-maker," deciding who keeps the accounts, how they are kept, and what to do in case of errors.
Decentralized blockchains usually adopt mechanisms like PoW (Proof of Work) or PoS (Proof of Stake), allowing global participants to compete for block production, making the entire process open and transparent.
For example, Bitcoin's PoW allows miners to compete for accounting rights through computational power; while Ethereum's current PoS selects validators by staking ETH, taking turns proposing and validating blocks.
Although these two mechanisms are different in form, they share a common point—no organization can directly decide who keeps the accounts, nor can they arbitrarily tamper with the ledger, ensuring the decentralization of the network.
So how can we determine if a chain's consensus mechanism is truly decentralized?
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It's simple; you can check its block explorer to see if the block production addresses are diverse and whether the same group of institutions has monopolized block production for a long time.
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Alternatively, you can check its technical documentation to see if it clearly states which consensus mechanism is used and whether it supports public staking and open competition.
Conversely, some consortium chains do not have any PoW or PoS at all, but directly designate a few "node institutions" to take turns producing blocks, much like companies taking turns on shifts. This type of consensus mechanism is essentially centralized control and cannot be considered decentralized.
Therefore, the node threshold looks at the "ability to join," while the consensus mechanism looks at "who leads." Combining these two dimensions allows us to see the true nature of a chain—whether it is genuinely decentralized or merely a facade of decentralization.
"Besides nodes and consensus mechanisms, there is another key point that cannot be overlooked—whether the code is open source. Because the nodes you run and the rules you use will ultimately be written in the code. In the next issue, we will discuss code openness.
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