Superminority Power Play: Can Solana Stay Truly Decentralized?

In an X (formerly Twitter) post, crypto commentator @martypartymusic highlighted the diverse geographic distribution of Solana nodes, which has now totaled 5541.

#Solana has 5541 nodes

Geographic Locations of @Solana Nodes.

1 United States 2013 (36.3%)
2 Canada 739 (13.34%)
3 Netherlands 553 (9.98%)
4 Germany 314 (5.67%)
5 France 273 (5%)
6 United Kingdom 223 (4%)
7 Poland 194 (3.5%)
8 Russia 172 (3.1%)
9 Japan 170 (3%)
10 Singapore 114… pic.twitter.com/Nj8NLrqMCF

— MartyParty (@martypartymusic) June 20, 2024

The United States leads with 2013 nodes (36.3%), followed by Canada (739 nodes, 13.34%), the Netherlands (553 nodes, 9.98%), Germany (314 nodes, 5.67%), and France (273 nodes, 5%). The United Kingdom, Poland, Russia, Japan, and Singapore also host significant numbers of nodes.

MartyPartyMusic’s post further confirmed that the United Kingdom has 223 nodes (4%), Poland has 194 (3.5%), Russia has 172 nodes (3.1%), Japan has 170 nodes (3%), and Singapore has 114 (2%). Others on the list include Romania (110 nodes, or 2%), the UAE (108 nodes, or 1.95%), Lithuania (71), the Czech (65), and Ireland (47).

Solana’s global reach extends to 49 countries, 230 cities, and 529 data centers, with Chicago, Tokyo, Naaldwijk, Dallas, Berlin, and New York emerging as key hubs.

On the other hand, an X user pointed out that the “super minority top 20 nodes that can halt, censor, or restart the entire chain if they choose.” As per the data from Solana Beach, the top 20 nodes form a “superminority,” which possesses a “threat of halt” or censorship issues, making the Solana blockchain closer to centralization than decentralization.

Now talk about the super minority top 20 nodes that can halt, censor, or restart the entire chain if they choose. #DeCeNtRaLiZeD pic.twitter.com/waJWeLU1a6

— Adam Barlam ⛓🎮 ﹤/ ﹥ (@adambarlam) June 21, 2024

Understanding the “superminority” is crucial: it represents the smallest group of validators that collectively control enough stake to disrupt the network if they were to collude.

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