Is being "top heavy" actually a bad thing?

belemo(78)

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I ran into @revisesociology's post about the distribution of Hive stakes between the various cadres of stakers and it had me thinking. According to the finding, Whales and Orcas hold slightly more stake than everyone in the dolphin category and below.

Seeing that we're a Proof of stake chain, this means that fewer number of people that hold a large stake, the more centralised the chain becomes.

In terms of Decentralisation, I totally get why anyone would have a problem with this situation. In some way, we could say it is an indictment on the distribution model around here.

Let's start from the fact that while coins can be bought at exchanges and staked, distribution is mostly based on the proof of brain concept. People use their stakes, combined with timing and all that stuff to distribute, as well as earn coins in the process. Which means that the more stake you have, the more coins you'll earn.

What you expect

Naturally, spreading the love will be good for the platform and that's why we encourage each other to upvote quality authors as much as possible.

In theory, decentralisation is possible and can work in a utopian sort of setup where everyone caters for everyone. However, the reality is that big bank always takes small bank.

Hive is no too different from the real world. The rich have a higher chance of getting richer, while the poor have to struggle twice as hard to earn crumbs. That's life though and I'm not mad about it. We're all trying to climb up the ladder after all, sorry for digressing.

Now coming back to the point, the fact that Hive is seemingly top heavy could work in our favour if the people at the top have good intentions and ideas that will improve the platform.

Yes, it means that decision making is a becomes more centralised but I also know that rich people at the top will try to maintain their riches and in context of Hive, and unlike the real world, those decisions will most likely have a positive impact on everyone, IF they aren't stupid of course.

A quick look at Leo that is very successful and very top heavy makes the point for me. Most of the top holders of the coin have unconsciously created a hegemony between themselves that while it can be frustrating, also ensures that the token is in strong hands and doesn't go down the toilet.

Now assuming Hive had something similar with an even heavier top filled with strong hands and business-savvy people, I believe things would be a lot better than they are now.

I know, it sounds like communism, dictatorship or whatever but frankly speaking, no one would care if we're winning. If it works out, we'll all celebrate the victory but if it doesn't, then we can all just blame it on the villain by default; centralisation 🤷‍♂️.