Recently, Charles Hoskinson, the founder of Cardano, openly criticized Bitcoin maximalists. According to him, contrary to their claims, Bitcoin was initially a completely centralized project under the full control of Satoshi Nakamoto. Let us examine his argument.
Hoskinson denounces the hypocrisy of maximalists on the original centralization of Bitcoin
The feud between Bitcoin maximalist and altcoin advocates is never-ending, it seems. Ardent supporters of Satoshi Nakamoto refuse to admit that altcoins can achieve a level of decentralization comparable to bitcoin. It is this same debate that Charles Hoskinson, the founder of Cardano, relaunched.
In a recent video live, Hoskinson recalled that when Bitcoin launched, Satoshi controlled 100% of the network’s hashing power, thus holding absolute power. According to him, a single actor centrally mined a large portion of BTC.
“At least some of the BTC issued by the mining process was done in a completely centralized manner, because only one actor mined them. He had total control over the network,” does he have asserted.
Deconstruction of decentralization: Hoskinson challenges the maximalists
Hoskinson questions the maximalists’ claim that Bitcoin quickly achieved a high degree of decentralization. He asks: why refuse the possibility of other cryptos starting centrally before gradually becoming decentralized, exactly like Bitcoin?
He recalls that in its early days, when Bitcoin began to gain popularity, its community adhered more to unity and showed a positive attitude towards the different emerging projects. It was later that rivalries and the concept of “maximalism” appeared.
Hoskinson accuses maximalists of unfairly treating altcoin founders as “crooks” deserving of prison, ignoring the fact that Bitcoin also started under centralized control of a single actor.
Although debatable, Hoskinson’s view on the supposed hypocrisy of maximalists deserves objective and nuanced analysis.
Maximize your Tremplin.io experience with our ‘Read to Earn’ program! For every article you read, earn points and access exclusive rewards. Sign up now and start earning benefits.
