TLDR Tech / Crypto
The Machiavellian Case for Decentralized Networks
Decentralization is the only pragmatic defense against corporate capture: any settlement network reaching scale will attract incumbents whose business models depend on controlling payment rails, following the same pattern as Visa and Mastercard's consolidation of card networks and Google's pivot to advertising. Permissioned enterprise blockchains and L2s with concentrated validators require trusting specific institutions to remain neutral, a condition that fails when profit incentives and network control converge. False decentralization is inferior to both real TradFi efficiency and genuine censorship-resistance, making it a delay tactic for incumbents rather than a durable infrastructure alternative. Permissionless L1s like Ethereum, despite their capture-resistance costs, represent the Nash equilibrium endpoint as assets flow toward the most neutral settlement infrastructure.
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