The Future Coin

Bitcoin

$49,276.51

BTC -1.69%

Ethereum

$1,602.55

ETH -3.64%

XRP

$0.46

XRP -4.21%

Litecoin

$180.15

LTC -2.30%

EOS

$3.86

EOS -2.82%

  • News
    • Bitcoin News
    • Ethereum News
    • Ripple News
    • Litecoin News
    • Altcoin News
    • Blockchain News
    • Business News
    • Technology News
    • Policy & Regulations
  • Markets
    • Market News
    • Market Analysis
    • Price Indexes
    • Top Cryptocurrencies
    • Heatmap
  • Opinion
  • Cryptopedia
    • Explained
    • Bitcoin101
    • Ethereum101
    • Bitcoin Cash101
    • ICO101
    • Ripple101
  • Press Releases
No Result
View All Result
The Future Coin
No Result
View All Result
Home Top Cryptocurrencies

Who Controls Bitcoin? A Guide to BTC Stakeholders

by The Future Coin
May 22, 2020
in Top Cryptocurrencies
0
Who Controls Bitcoin? A Guide to BTC Stakeholders
152
SHARES
1.9k
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Though there isn’t one single entity that controls the network, Bitcoin’s creator designed the protocol around several key stakeholders that can influence the top cryptocurrency’s future.


Key Takeaways

  • Bitcoin is a game theoretical system in which all stakeholders are incentivized to work in the best interests of the network.
  • These stakeholders include programmers, miners, whales, and exchanges.
  • So far any nefarious attacks on the network have been deflected. Very little stands in the way of further progress.

Share this article

Although Bitcoin has a creator, no single entity controls the world’s biggest cryptocurrency. There are, however, ways that one can influence the network. In the following guide, Crypto Briefing will walk readers through the principles of decentralized governance in cryptocurrencies in an attempt to answer the question: Who controls Bitcoin?

To answer the question, one must examine the role that different groups play in the operation of the Bitcoin ecosystem.

Who Controls Bitcoin’s Development?

Bitcoin runs on open-source software called Bitcoin Core. In principle, anyone can contribute to the Bitcoin Core codebase, and there are a large number of developers who have provided code contributions.

There is an unofficial hierarchy among Bitcoin Core developers based on the time that some have spent working on the protocol. The quality of these efforts is also taken into account. Developers such as Pieter Wuille or Gregory Maxwell, for example, have been involved with Bitcoin Core for many years and have committed a vast amount of code.

Greg Maxwell refuses to post on this platform, so he wrote a response to JK Rowling’s tweet on Reddit. It is superb. pic.twitter.com/zyTa5vjVe4

— Soona (@soonaorlater) May 15, 2020

Only a handful of people have the right to sign off on a change to the Bitcoin Core code and merge it into the main codebase. That doesn’t mean this group necessarily “controls” the Bitcoin Core code. Jameson Lopp instead describes their role as “janitorial.”

Each change request must go through rigorous reviews and testing by multiple other developers before being committed to the Bitcoin Core codebase.

While newcomer developers may struggle to get attention to their change requests, they can participate and earn a reputation by contributing their time and energy to reviewing and testing code from other developers.

Who Controls Bitcoin’s Supply?

When Satoshi Nakamoto developed the Bitcoin source code, he specified that the number of Bitcoins would be capped at 21 million. Theoretically, the Bitcoin Core development team could decide to change the source code to override the limit on the supply of BTC.

However, it’s highly unlikely that they would.

Bitcoin’s value is derived from its scarcity, and allowing more coins to be mined would generate inflation, pushing down the price. This goes against the interests of the entire community.

Miners would see their rewards devalue and potentially stop their mining activities, and Bitcoin holders would become incentivized to dump their investments, further pushing down the price.

Who Controls the Bitcoin Blockchain?

Bitcoin miners control the Bitcoin blockchain, insofar as the health and security of the network depends on their activity.

Miners are incentivized to contribute and act in the best interests of the network via rewards and transaction fees paid in Bitcoin.

Source: BitInfoCharts

There are many arguments over the extent of Bitcoin mining decentralization.

As things stand, over 8,000 nodes run on the Bitcoin network. However, a single node has a very slim chance of successfully mining a block because it’s impossible to compete with the combined hash rate of industrial-strength mining pools.

Mining pools have become an increasing source of concern for many in the Bitcoin community. Bitmain dominates the mining hardware industry with a market share of around 65%. They also operate two large mining pools – Antpool and BTC.com.

These two pools account for over 25% of Bitcoin’s hash rate, meaning that Bitmain, and mining pools in general, exert a significant degree of control over Bitcoin mining operations.

Who controls Bitcoin mining pool distribution
Source: BTC.com

Who Controls Bitcoin’s Price?

The price of Bitcoin is purely subject to the laws of supply and demand.

Earn smarter with Cred
Simetri Ad

Therefore, the entire Bitcoin community controls the price, at least in theory. The more BTC that any individual holds, the more influence they have on the price.

As things stand, the distribution of Bitcoin is skewed towards “whales,” or individuals holding over 1,000 BTC. Currently, over 40% of all BTC is owned by people who fit that criterion.

Who controls Bitcoin - coin distribution
Source: BTC.com

When a whale makes a sudden movement, it can influence the price of Bitcoin. Last year, Bitcoin dropped 14% overnight due to two separate sales of 25,000 and 14,000 BTC, causing a panic sell-off from the rest of the markets.

As Crypto Briefing recently reported, whales began accruing BTC ahead of the halving event on May 11. Many have speculated that these events typically precede meteoric bull runs.

Source: Token Daily

There are many more variables at play this time around, including a far more extensive market for speculative instruments such as futures, along with the economic fallout of the global coronavirus pandemic.

However, it’s fair to say that the halving is likely to exert some influence on Bitcoin’s price, due to the squeeze on supply. How significant that influence ends up being will be difficult to determine.

Summary

From all this, it’s evident that nobody controls Bitcoin. Instead, there are groups of stakeholders, each of which exerts its influence over various aspects of the overall Bitcoin ecosystem.

It’s worth pointing out that Satoshi Nakamoto never actually used the term “decentralized” in the Bitcoin white paper.

Nevertheless, in designing Bitcoin, he built a model of decentralized governance and gamification that has proven resilient for over a decade now, with every indication that it will survive long into the future.

Share this article

The information on or accessed through this website is obtained from independent sources we believe to be accurate and reliable, but Decentral Media, Inc. makes no representation or warranty as to the timeliness, completeness, or accuracy of any information on or accessed through this website. Decentral Media, Inc. is not an investment advisor. We do not give personalized investment advice or other financial advice. The information on this website is subject to change without notice. Some or all of the information on this website may become outdated, or it may be or become incomplete or inaccurate. We may, but are not obligated to, update any outdated, incomplete, or inaccurate information.

You should never make an investment decision on an ICO, IEO, or other investment based on the information on this website, and you should never interpret or otherwise rely on any of the information on this website as investment advice. We strongly recommend that you consult a licensed investment advisor or other qualified financial professional if you are seeking investment advice on an ICO, IEO, or other investment. We do not accept compensation in any form for analyzing or reporting on any ICO, IEO, cryptocurrency, currency, tokenized sales, securities, or commodities.

See full terms and conditions.



Source link

EDITOR’S CHOICE

UPDATE 1-Covantis agribusiness alliance launches blockchain platform

North County Business Briefs, Feb. 25

CoinShares debuts ethereum ETP

Key Ichimoku Levels For Litecoin (LTC), Stellar Lumens (XLM) And Total Crypto Market

SETL Hires Ripple Global Head Of Banking To Lead Payments Business

Unstoppable Domains Partners with Unocoin to Lower Remittance Fees Across India

Best Pick For You

News

  • Altcoin News
  • Bitcoin News
  • Blockchain News
  • Business News
  • Ethereum News
  • Litecoin News
  • Ripple News

Features

  • Market Analysis
  • Opinion
  • Explained
  • Policy & Regulations
  • Top Cryptocurrencies
  • Technology News

Market Tools

  • Market News
  • Price Indexes
  • Bitcoin Price Index
  • Ethereum Price Index
  • Bitcoin Cash Price Index
  • Litecoin Price Index
  • Monero Price Index
  • HeatmapPartner

Cryptopedia

  • Explained
  • Bitcoin101
  • Bitcoin Cash101
  • Ethereum101
  • ICO101
  • Ripple101

© 2020 Coingraph

No Result
View All Result
  • News
    • Bitcoin News
    • Ethereum News
    • Ripple News
    • Litecoin News
    • Altcoin News
    • Blockchain News
    • Business News
    • Technology News
    • Policy & Regulations
  • Markets
    • Market News
    • Market Analysis
    • Price Indexes
    • Top Cryptocurrencies
    • Heatmap
  • Opinion
  • Cryptopedia
    • Explained
    • Bitcoin101
    • Ethereum101
    • Bitcoin Cash101
    • ICO101
    • Ripple101
  • Press Releases

© 2020 Coingraph

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Fill the forms bellow to register

All fields are required. Log In

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
bitcoin
Bitcoin (BTC) $ 49,335.00
ethereum
Ethereum (ETH) $ 1,607.42
binance-coin
Binance Coin (BNB) $ 242.88
tether
Tether (USDT) $ 1.00
cardano
Cardano (ADA) $ 1.03
polkadot
Polkadot (DOT) $ 32.81
xrp
XRP (XRP) $ 0.461049
litecoin
Litecoin (LTC) $ 178.66
chainlink
Chainlink (LINK) $ 26.96
bitcoin-cash
Bitcoin Cash (BCH) $ 524.25
stellar
Stellar (XLM) $ 0.402283
usd-coin
USD Coin (USDC) $ 1.00
uniswap
Uniswap (UNI) $ 24.57
dogecoin
Dogecoin (DOGE) $ 0.054875
wrapped-bitcoin
Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC) $ 49,364.00
okb
OKB (OKB) $ 17.56
nem
NEM (XEM) $ 0.511051
cosmos
Cosmos (ATOM) $ 18.98
aave
Aave (AAVE) $ 361.46
solana
Solana (SOL) $ 15.95
crypto-com-chain
Crypto.com Coin (CRO) $ 0.168960
monero
Monero (XMR) $ 207.66
eos
EOS (EOS) $ 3.84
bitcoin-sv
Bitcoin SV (BSV) $ 191.82
huobi-token
Huobi Token (HT) $ 18.36
tron
TRON (TRX) $ 0.047779
iota
IOTA (MIOTA) $ 1.18
theta-token
Theta Network (THETA) $ 3.15
havven
Synthetix Network Token (SNX) $ 20.30
neo
NEO (NEO) $ 40.87
terra-luna
Terra (LUNA) $ 6.55
vechain
VeChain (VET) $ 0.042084
tezos
Tezos (XTZ) $ 3.55
ftx-token
FTX Token (FTT) $ 29.85
dai
Dai (DAI) $ 1.00
binance-usd
Binance USD (BUSD) $ 1.00
dash
Dash (DASH) $ 233.61
the-graph
The Graph (GRT) $ 1.87
cdai
cDAI (CDAI) $ 0.021255
avalanche-2
Avalanche (AVAX) $ 28.91
kusama
Kusama (KSM) $ 237.84
maker
Maker (MKR) $ 2,213.97
compound-ether
cETH (CETH) $ 32.20
elrond-erd-2
Elrond (EGLD) $ 114.55
fantom
Fantom (FTM) $ 0.770784
celsius-degree-token
Celsius Network (CEL) $ 5.13
sushi
Sushi (SUSHI) $ 15.47
filecoin
Filecoin (FIL) $ 35.53
leo-token
LEO Token (LEO) $ 2.02
compound-governance-token
Compound (COMP) $ 437.11