区块链去中心化的神话

去中心化是区块链技术的基础，有望为中心化系统提供更具弹性和抗审查性的替代方案。但业界领先的协议真的像他们声称的那样去中心化吗？

Blockchains are touted as decentralized alternatives to centralized systems, promising greater resilience and resistance to censorship. However, a closer examination reveals that the industry's leading protocols may not be as decentralized as they claim.

区块链被吹捧为集中式系统的去中心化替代品，承诺具有更大的弹性和对审查的抵抗力。然而，仔细检查就会发现，行业领先的协议可能并不像他们声称的那样去中心化。

Decentralization can be measured along several dimensions. One straightforward metric is the number of entities participating in a network's validation or block-mining process. However, other factors can also enhance or erode decentralization:

去中心化可以从几个维度来衡量。一个简单的指标是参与网络验证或区块挖掘过程的实体数量。然而，其他因素也可能增强或削弱权力下放：

The following table compares the degree of decentralization of leading protocols across these dimensions:

下表比较了主要协议在这些维度上的去中心化程度：

Decentralization does come at a cost: the greater the distance between peers, the higher the latency. Latency is critical for validators to complete assigned tasks within a reasonable time frame. Missing these deadlines results in lost rewards for validators, incentivizing them to locate their nodes closer to larger clusters of peers, thereby increasing centralization. Similarly, smaller block sizes or shorter block durations lead to higher centralization incentives.

去中心化确实是有代价的：点之间的距离越远，延迟就越高。延迟对于验证者在合理的时间范围内完成分配的任务至关重要。错过这些最后期限会导致验证者失去奖励，从而激励他们将节点定位在距离更大的对等集群更近的地方，从而提高中心化程度。同样，较小的区块大小或较短的区块持续时间会导致更高的中心化激励。

In essence, many protocols indirectly penalize decentralization by reducing the rewards for those who deploy infrastructure in territories where no one else is present. These pioneers bear the burden of blockchain resilience with no incentive other than the satisfaction of performing a necessary task in a neglected location.

从本质上讲，许多协议通过减少那些在没有其他人存在的地区部署基础设施的人的奖励来间接惩罚权力下放。这些先驱者承担着区块链弹性的重担，除了在被忽视的地方执行必要任务的满足感之外没有任何激励。

Only a handful of protocols provide some form of predictable and explicit incentives at the protocol level (e.g., higher priority in proposing blocks, increased issuance rewards for participation) to drive network decentralization. In most cases, these incentives are handled as ad-hoc grants or delegations from the protocol foundations to specific network participants.

只有少数协议在协议级别提供某种形式的可预测和明确的激励（例如，提出区块的更高优先级、增加参与的发行奖励）来推动网络去中心化。在大多数情况下，这些激励措施被视为协议基金会向特定网络参与者的临时拨款或委托。

If decentralization is truly the cornerstone of blockchain's ethos, then the industry must act accordingly. Protocols need to adopt mechanisms that incentivize nodes to operate in diverse jurisdictions, be hosted on independent facilities, and use varied client software (where applicable). Without such incentives, the natural pull of economic efficiency will drive centralization, threatening blockchain's own promise of censorship resistance and resilience.

如果去中心化确实是区块链精神的基石，那么行业就必须采取相应的行动。协议需要采用激励节点在不同司法管辖区运行、托管在独立设施上并使用不同客户端软件（如果适用）的机制。如果没有这样的激励措施，经济效率的自然拉动将推动集中化，威胁到区块链自身抗审查性和弹性的承诺。

The future of blockchain lies in networks that are designed to remain decentralized, not by chance or goodwill, but inherently. Let's ensure that decentralization is not merely an aspiration but a tangible, incentivized reality.

区块链的未来在于旨在保持去中心化的网络，这不是偶然或善意，而是本质上的。让我们确保去中心化不仅仅是一个愿望，而是一个切实的、有激励作用的现实。