Binance, CZ & Trump
Centralisation: who controls which decision?
Validators, administrators, custodians and public accounts exercise different forms of power.
Research articles and reference entries are published in English. Navigation is available in seven languages.
Original on X
In this article
The word decentralised becomes unhelpful when it covers every part of a system at once. A network can have many validators while one company controls its main interface. A token can have many addresses while a few beneficial owners hold most of the supply. A DAO can publish every vote while a small group determines every result.
Map the actual decisions
Identify who can order transactions, censor access, change code, mint or freeze assets, direct a treasury, control important domains and allocate public visibility. Each power belongs in a separate row. Record how its holder can be replaced and what a user can do if it is abused.
MASTR's attention-capture research adds distribution power to the usual technical questions. Official accounts, exchanges and influential investors help decide which projects become visible and credible. That power can be concentrated without changing the consensus protocol.
The result should be a description of controls, not a tribal ranking of chains. Compare governance, custody and upgrade authority before attaching one broad label to a product.
Sources
- MASTR Research: From Decentralisation to Attention Capture, July 2026
- MASTR on X: economic recentralisation, 17 January 2026
Research checked 5 September 2026. Historical cases retain the date and legal status of the cited record.