What would then be the 'mature blockchains'?
This question could be answered by elimination. Some cryptocurrency networks seem to not meet the requirement of decentralized and independent governance from a central unit.
For example, Ripple controls at least almost 40% of the XRP supply, which implies that this company has significant power over the distribution and potential manipulation of the asset, affecting the perception of decentralization.
In a similar case, the Ethereum Foundation (EF) is currently the third entity with the largest holdings of ether (ETH), having been displaced from the first position just three days ago, which suggests a concentration of power in the Ethereum ecosystem.
Likewise, both in Ethereum and Cardano, although more debatable, the influence of the EF, as well as that of Charles Hoskinson and his company IOHK, which drive the evolution of those ecosystems and protocols with significant weight, partially impact governance, questioning its total independence.
The case of Bitcoin seems to fit more towards a truly decentralized network. Unlike projects with central entities that direct their development, Bitcoin operates without a single authority, but with a group of collaborators. Although until recently Bitcoin Core, with its adoption of over 90%, could be considered a group that directed the protocol policies of the network's nodes, the rise of Knots as an alternative Bitcoin client is progressively reducing its influence and limiting its one-directional action.
A recent test of this decentralization of Bitcoin is, therefore, the conflict between clients, which led operators who consider Bitcoin Core's measures erroneous to migrate their structures to Bitcoin Knots.
As a result, the number of Knots operators has grown since last April, when it barely had a few hundred, to nearly 4,000 currently, representing more than 15% of the total nodes.
This transition reflects the network's ability to adapt, reinforcing its resistance to centralization.
Nevertheless, the CLARITY Act opens a debate on how those criteria will be measured. The absence of specific names leaves the classification in the hands of future regulations, a point that could shape the cryptocurrency ecosystem in the coming years.
The concrete fact is that the CLARITY bill, enacted by the House of Representatives of the U.S. Congress, still needs to be approved by the Senate and then signed by Donald Trump, President of the U.S., who since taking office for his second term has shown great affinity for the adoption of Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies. #GENIUSAct $ETH
