Edward Snowden Calls Out Solana For Being Too Centralised. Is Centralisation Creeping Into The Hearts of Crypto?

Edward Snowden, speaking at the Near's Redacted conference in Bangkok, Thailand, has voiced his concern for blockchain projects given the currency influence of "venture capitals" on blockchain projects.

Snowden named Solana as one example, saying that it was "born in prison" given the big funds they are getting from VC, suggesting that financial backing can impede a blockchain network's ability to operate independently.

Snowden cautioned that heavy ownership by investors may compromise the core principles of decentralisation that are fundamental to blockchain's initial vision. Regardless, Snowden has acknowledged that Solana could become something in the future.

Safeguarding decentralisation against AI's surveillance

Throughout his talk, Snowden emphasized the importance of decentralisation in countering the expansive surveillance capabilities enabled by AI.

"They want to train in on everything, and they want to be able to say, you know, who looks anomalous...Lookat everybody, look at the whole human body, and pick out anybody who is weird."

Snowden warns, societies risk creating tools that make it easier for governments to enforce real-time monitoring of individuals, increasing the power imbalance between citizens and authorities. Decentralisation, in Snowden's view, could serve as a good counterbalance by empowering individuals over corporations and state entities.

Snowden's calls for decentralization and scrutiny of AI surveillance resonate deeply within the blockchain and cryptocurrency communities. As technology continues to advance, so do concerns around privacy and autonomy.

His speech thus underscores a broader discussion on the necessity of decentralized technologies to prevent concentration of power and preserve personal freedom.

The threat of VC on decentralisation

Snowden's example of Solana points out how VC can be a dangerous threat to decentralisation and autonomy of blockchain networks.

He referenced past concerns that were shared during a vote by Andreessen Horowitz, a venture capital firm regarding the deployment of Uniswap v3 on BNB.

Snowden was concerned about how large stakeholders can maintain such great control over so-called decentralized projects, which goes against the philosophy of blockchain technology.

Snowden also advocated open-source tools as an essential medium for countering the centralisation of control and touted its ability to empower the individual.

Snowden believes that open source models are very empowering as it enables users of open source models to understand and apply blockchain technologies much better.

Snowden sees open-source AI as an opportunity for individuals to maintain autonomy in a centralized space, encouraging listeners at the talk and users globally to adopt these tools.