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On 31 March 2021, Cardano reached "100% decentralization" meaning that 100% of the blocks are produced by the stake pools.

An excellent introduction about Cardano decentralization is given here, but Cardano does have a Board of Directors (often known as "off-chain governance", as opposed to the "on-chain governance").

I wonder, to what extent (if any) could the "centralization" of the off-chain governance in the form of a Board of Directors pose a threat to Cardano's overall notion of being 100% decentralized from an on-chain perspective?

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  • Do you have a source for the "Board of Directors" concept for Cardano? I thought the latest developments were that it was going to implement a bicameral model where there is some on-chain and some off-chain governance with voting power being split between ADA holders and SPOs.
    – EGMSSE
    Apr 28, 2021 at 2:43
  • @EGMSSE It sounds like that could be a question of its own. I can try to answer the question, but comments aren't the best place for that.
    – Nike Dattani
    Apr 28, 2021 at 2:46
  • @NikeDattani On chain governance is not yet decentralised, as all protocol updates must be approved by a 5 of 7 quorum of genesis delegates (at IOHK, Emurgo, and CF). This is in contrast to Bitcoin, where protocol updates are approved by a majority of mining power and/or users.
    – soccer193
    Apr 28, 2021 at 5:14
  • @soccer193 Thanks! Is it correct though to say that 100% of the blocks are produced by the stake pools, meaning 100% decentralization in that sense? So perhaps there's three main types of (de)centralization at play?
    – Nike Dattani
    Apr 28, 2021 at 5:17
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    Yes, and decentralised block production is a necessary step, but it is overused in the way people market the project online.
    – soccer193
    Apr 28, 2021 at 5:21

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It won't once all parts of the Cardano road map are complete. Voltaire isn't complete yet, but once it is. The Board of Directors at Cardano foundation do not have the power to control or change the network. This process is being done in multiple steps, like staking and SPOs are now 100% community-produced blocks.

Check out project Catalysts as it is the foundation to what Voltaire completion will bring.

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