{"id":8010,"date":"2022-10-22T21:00:35","date_gmt":"2022-10-22T21:00:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/cryptoheretostay.com\/?p=8010"},"modified":"2022-10-22T21:00:35","modified_gmt":"2022-10-22T21:00:35","slug":"algorand-cto-responds-to-criticisms-of-centralization-and-permissioned-nature-of-blockchain","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cryptoheretostay.com\/?p=8010","title":{"rendered":"Algorand CTO responds to criticisms of centralization and permissioned nature of blockchain"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <script type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\namzn_assoc_placement = \"adunit0\";\r\namzn_assoc_tracking_id = \"totafreearti-20\";\r\namzn_assoc_ad_mode = \"search\";\r\namzn_assoc_ad_type = \"smart\";\r\namzn_assoc_marketplace = \"amazon\";\r\namzn_assoc_region = \"US\";\r\namzn_assoc_default_search_phrase = \"crypto\";\r\namzn_assoc_default_category = \"All\";\r\namzn_assoc_search_bar = \"false\";\r\namzn_assoc_title = \"\";\r\namzn_assoc_rows =\"1\";\r\n<\/script>\r\n<script src=\"\/\/z-na.amazon-adsystem.com\/widgets\/onejs?MarketPlace=US\"><\/script><br \/>\n   <\/p>\n<p>John Woods, the CTO of Algorand Foundation, has responded to criticism from Justin Bons of Cyber Capital that Algorand is \u201ccentralized and permissioned.\u201d Woods accepted some \u201ccritical views\u201d but argued that the chain is still decentralized or permissionless.<\/p>\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Whilst I obviously disagree that Algorand is centralised and permissioned \u2013 there are a number of fair criticisms in this thread. It&#8217;s vital to be able to consider and accept critical views! <br \/>Thanks for the thoughts Justin.<br \/>Opening up the Relay program is part of my 2023 strats. https:\/\/t.co\/RaoxAxR7A5<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 John Woods (@JohnAlanWoods) October 21, 2022<\/p>\n<h2>Centralization and censorship on Algorand<\/h2>\n<p>Bons took to Twitter on October 21 to praise Algorand for its \u201ccutting edge\u201d technology but argued that \u201cpermissioned gatekeepers can censor any TX on a whim.\u201d The 25-tweet thread went into detail to say that Algorand is a centralized blockchain controlled by the Algorand Foundation.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEven though consensus is run through \u201cparticipation nodes,\u201d which are permissionless The \u201crelay nodes\u201d are hand-picked by the foundation, making them permission!\u201d<\/p>\n<p>According to Bons, the relays can act as \u201cgatekeepers to the entire system\u201d as they are \u201csolely responsible for block propagation.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In one tweet, Bons did accept that \u201cfull decentralization is only a few relatively minor code changes away\u201d for Algorand. However, he believes that the current state of the blockchain, as he postulates that \u201crelay nodes\u201d could be compelled to comply with the OFAC sanctions list\u201d just as we have seen on Ethereum.<\/p>\n<p>Bons also commented on claims that Algorand had solved the trilemma issue of blockchains. The trilemma is an issue whereby achieving adequate levels of security, decentralization, and scalability are a limitation of a blockchain\u2019s makeup. His assertion is that Algorand\u2019s approach to the trilemma may be \u201cgood enough\u201d but has \u201csome major limitations.\u201d<\/p>\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">It solves it with some major limitations<\/p>\n<p>This means it is still within the trilemma but could very well be good enough<\/p>\n<p>That is if the relay nodes are ever fully decentralized, that is the big question mark here<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Justin Bons (@Justin_Bons) October 21, 2022<\/p>\n<h2>John Woods\u2019 Response<\/h2>\n<p>While Woods denied Bons\u2019 central thesis, the Algorand Foundation CTO affirmed that \u201cIt\u2019s vital to be able to consider and accept critical views!\u201d to accept some of the current failings of the chain.<\/p>\n<p>Woods also retweeted a reply from Patrick Bennett, CEO of TxnLabs, who argued that \u201cto censor, ALL relays would have to censor\u2026 the 4 random relays my node happens to be talking to at *that* point would have to censor.\u201d Bennett contended that \u201ca majority of relay nodes\u201d is not a simple task to achieve, given the randomness built into the relay system.<\/p>\n<p>Further, Woods confirmed that opening the relay program will be a \u201cpriority for 2023\u201d in a small admission of the limitations of the current closed system. Woods also stated a need to \u201cmake it more open,\u201d agreeing that the issue is \u201cnon-trivial.\u201d<\/p>\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Relays are equiv to network switches, but nodes gossip to 4 random relays. To censor, ALL relays would have to censor or at least for me, the 4 random relays my node happens to be talking to at *that* point would have to censor. So &#8216;majority of relay nodes&#8217; is key here.<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 patrick.algo (@patrickbennett) October 21, 2022<\/p>\n<p>Overall, Bons\u2019 criticisms are based on an appreciation of the Algoran blockchain as he stated that features such as \u201cALGOs on-chain governance\u2026 is excellent.\u201d The conversation between Bons and Woods within the thread also showcased the ability for genuine dialogue and progression to occur on Crypto Twitter from time to time.<\/p>\n<p>While the conversation was highly technical at times, it is fascinating to see such high-level discussions about technology improvement with a market cap of over $2 billion being discussed so openly in public. Further, the public interactions with the subject matter illustrate the technical competence of the web3 community overall.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<h2>Get an Edge on the Crypto Market \ud83d\udc47<\/h2>\n<p>Become a member of CryptoSlate Edge and access our exclusive Discord community, more exclusive content and analysis.<\/p>\n<p>  <strong>On-chain analysis<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>  <strong>Price snapshots<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>  <strong>More context<\/strong><\/p>\n<p> Join now for $19\/month Explore all benefits<br \/>\n<br \/><script type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\namzn_assoc_placement = \"adunit0\";\r\namzn_assoc_tracking_id = \"totafreearti-20\";\r\namzn_assoc_ad_mode = \"search\";\r\namzn_assoc_ad_type = \"smart\";\r\namzn_assoc_marketplace = \"amazon\";\r\namzn_assoc_region = \"US\";\r\namzn_assoc_default_search_phrase = \"bitcoin\";\r\namzn_assoc_default_category = \"All\";\r\namzn_assoc_search_bar = \"false\";\r\namzn_assoc_title = \"\";\r\namzn_assoc_rows =\"1\";\r\n<\/script>\r\n<script src=\"\/\/z-na.amazon-adsystem.com\/widgets\/onejs?MarketPlace=US\"><\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/cryptoslate.com\/algorand-cto-responds-to-criticisms-of-centralization-and-permissioned-nature-of-blockchain\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>John Woods, the CTO of Algorand Foundation, has responded to criticism from Justin Bons of Cyber Capital that Algorand is \u201ccentralized and permissioned.\u201d Woods accepted some \u201ccritical views\u201d but argued that the chain is still decentralized or permissionless. Whilst I obviously disagree that Algorand is centralised and permissioned \u2013 there are a number of fair [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8011,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_wp_rev_ctl_limit":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8010","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ethereum-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cryptoheretostay.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8010","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cryptoheretostay.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cryptoheretostay.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cryptoheretostay.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cryptoheretostay.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=8010"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cryptoheretostay.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8010\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8012,"href":"https:\/\/cryptoheretostay.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8010\/revisions\/8012"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cryptoheretostay.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/8011"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cryptoheretostay.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=8010"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cryptoheretostay.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=8010"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cryptoheretostay.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=8010"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}